Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Growth and N2fixation in Saline and/or Water Stressed Sesbania aculeata Plants in Response to Silicon Application

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Silicon Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the effects of silicon (Si) on dry matter yield (DM), N uptake and N2-fixation in Sesbania aculeata grown under water stress and/or salt stress using 15N. Irrigation regime had two levels, well watered (I1) and water stress (I2), and was made either with saline (Salt+) or with non saline water (Salt-). Silicon had positive impacts on DM of sesbania grown under water stress. Only root DM increased as a result of Si addition in well watered plants grown under salt stress or under both stress conditions. Moreover, root/shoot ratio was higher in Si-fed plants, under stresses, than those of non-fertilized plants. N yield significantly increased in salt stressed sesbania plant grown under well watering regime. However, the positive effect of Si in plants subjected to both stresses was only occurred in roots. In addition, Si application enhanced soil (Ndfs), fertilizer (Ndff) and N2-fixation (Ndfa) under salt and/or water stress conditions. The beneficial effect of Si on the amount of Ndfa was more pronounced under stress conditions. In the whole plant, significant effects of Si were obtained in water-stressed, salt-stressed and both water and salt-stressed treatments, where amounts of Ndfa increased by 8, 39 and 39%, respectively, as compared to their controls. Overall, response to Si was expressed more clearly when sesbania plants were subjected to stresses. Silicon may be considered as an important element for the symbiotic performance in legumes by mitigating the adverse effects of abiotic stresses.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Patade VY, Bhargava S, Suprasanna P (2011) Salt and drought tolerance of sugarcane under iso-osmotic salt and water stress: growth, osmolytes accumulation and antioxidant defense. J Plant Int 6(4):275–282

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Hu Y, Schmidhalter U (2005) Drought and salinity: a comparison of their effects on mineral nutrition of plants. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 168:541–549

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Hardarson G (1993) Methods for enhancing symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Plant Soil 152(1):1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Sandhu GR, Haq MI (1981) Economic utilization and amelioration of salt-affected soils. In: Muhammad S, Aslam M (eds) Qureshi RH. Membrane biophysics and salt tolerance in plants. University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, pp 111–114

  5. Kurdali F (2004) Estimates of dry matter yield and N uptake in sorghum grown on saline and non-saline soils manured with dhaincha plant residues. J Plant Nutr 27(9):1611–1633

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Zarkawi M, Al-Masri MR, Khalifa Kh (2003) Research note: a observation on yield and nutritive value of Sesbania aculeata and its feeding to Damascus does. Trop Grasslands 37:187–192

    Google Scholar 

  7. Kurdali F, Al-Ain F (2002) Effect of different water salinity levels on growth, nodulation and N2-fixation by dhaincha and on growth of sunflower using a 15n tracer technique. J Plant Nutr 25:2483–2498

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Kurdali F (2009) Growth and Nitrogen fixation in dhaincha/sorghum and dhaincha/sunflower intercropping systems using 15nitrogen and 13carbon natural abundance techniques. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 40(19–20):2995–3014

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Kurdali F, Janat M, Khalifa K (2003) Growth and nitrogen fixation and uptake in dhaincha/sorghum intercropping system under saline and non saline conditions. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 34:2471–2494

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Liang Y, Sun W, Zhu YG, Christie P (2007) Mechanisms of silicon-mediated alleviation of abiotic stresses in higher plants: a review. Environ Pollu 147:422–428

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Savant NK, Komodorfer GH, Datnoff LE, Synder GH (1999) Silicon nutrition in sugarcane: a review. J Plant Nutr 22:1853–1903

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Epstein E (2001) Silicon in plants: facts vs. concepts. In: Datnoff LE, Snyder GH, Korndorfer GH (eds) Silicon in agriculture. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 1–16

  13. Amin M, Ahmad R, Ali A, Aslam M, Lee DJ (2016) Silicon fertilization improves the maize (Zea mays L.) performance under limited moisture supply. Cereal Res Comm 44(1):172–185

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Singh KK, Singh K, Singh R (2005) Effect of nitrogen and silicon levels on growth, yield attributes, and yield of rice in Alfisols. Intern Rice Res Notes 30(1):40–41

    Google Scholar 

  15. Kurdali F, Al-Chammaa M, Mouasess A (2013) Growth and nitrogen fixation in silicon and/or potassium fed chickpeas grown under drought and well watered conditions. J Stress Physiol Biochem 9(3):385–406

    Google Scholar 

  16. Heckman J (2013) Silicon: a beneficial substance. Better Crops 97:14–16

    Google Scholar 

  17. Owino-Gerroh C, Gascho CJ, Phatak SC (2005) Pigeon pea responses to silicon, phosphorus and rhizobium inoculation in an acid coastal plain soil. J Plant Nutr 28:797–804

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Mali M, Arey NC (2008) Silicon effects on nodule growth, dry-matter production, and mineral nutrition of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata). J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 171:835–840

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Hamayun M, Sohn EY, Khan SA, Shinwari ZK, Khan AL, Lee IJ (2010) Silicon alleviates the adverse effects of salinity and drought stress on growth and endogenous plant growth hormones of soybean (Glycine max L.) Pak J Bot 42(3):1713–1722

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Zuccarini P (2008) Effects of silicon on photosynthesis, water relations and nutrient uptake of Phaseolus vulgaris under NaCl stress. Biol Plant 52:157–160

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Nelwamondo A, Dakora FD (1999) Silicon promotes nodule formation and nodule function in symbiotic cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) New Phytol 142:463–467

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Fried M, Middelboe V (1977) Measurement of amount of nitrogen fixed by a legume crop. Plant Soil 47 (3):713–715

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Bremner JM (1965) Total nitrogen. In: Black C (ed) Method of soil analysis, part 2. American Society of Agronomy, Inc. Publisher, Madison, pp 1149–1176

  24. Waraich EA, Ahmad R, Saifullah A, Ehsanullah MY (2011) Role of mineral nutrition in alleviating of droght stress in plants. Aust J Crop Sci 5(6):764–777

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Ahmed M, Kamran A, Asif M, Qadeer U, Iqbal Z, Goyal A (2013) Silicon priming: a potential source to impart abiotic stress tolerance in wheat: a review. Aust J Crop Sci 7(4):484–491

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Shen X, Zhou Y, Duan L, Li Z, Eneji AE, Li J (2010) Silicon effects on photosynthesis and antioxidant parameters of soybean seedlings under drought and ultraviolet-B radiation. J Plant Phys 167:1248–1252

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Amin M, Ahmad R, Ali A, Hussain I, Mahmood R, Aslam M, Lee DJ (2016) Influence of silicon fertilization on maize performance under limited water supply. Silicon. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-015-9372-x

  28. Ahmad F, Rahmatullah AT, Maqsood MA, Mukkram A, Tahir MA, Kanwal S (2007) Effect of silicon application on wheat (Triticum aestivium L.) growth under water deficiency stress. Emir J Food Agric 19 (2):1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Hattori A, Inanaga S, Araki H, An P, Mortia S, Luxova M, Lux A (2005) Application of silicon enhanced drought tolerance in sorghum bicolor. J Plant Physiol 123:459–466

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Ma JF (2004) Role of silicon in enhancing the resistance of plants to biotic and abiotic stresses. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 50(1):11–18

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Gao X, Zou C, Wang L, Zhang F (2005) Silicon improves water use efficiency in maize plants. J Plant Nutr 27(8):1457–1470

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Pei Z, Ming D, Liu D, Wan G, Geng X, Gong H, Zhou W (2010) Silicon improves the tolerance to water-deficit stress induced by polyethylene glycol in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings. J Plant Growth Regul 29(1):106–115

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Agarie S, Agata W, Kubota F, Kaufman PB (1992) Physiological roles of silicon in photosynthesis and dry matter production in rice plants. I. Effect of silicon and shading treatments. Jpn J Crop Sci 61:200–206

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Dakora FD, Nelwamondo A (2003) Silicon nutrition promotes root growth and tissue mechanical strength in symbiotic cowpea. Functional Plant Biol 30:947–953

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Nelwamondo A, Jaffer MA, Dakora FD (2001) Subcellular organization of N2-fixing nodules of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) supplied with silicon. Protoplasma 216:94–100

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Hattori T, Ishii K, An P, Inanaga S (2009) Growth enhancement of rye by silicon application under two different soil water regimes. J Plant Nutr 32(2):187–196

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Kurdali F, Al-Chammaa M (2013) Growth, carbon isotope discrimination and nitrogen uptake in silicon and/or potassium fed barley grown under two watering regimes. J Stress Physiol Biochem 9(1):14–27

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Director General of the Atomic Energy Commission of Syria, for his support, encouragement and providing necessary facilities during the course of the experiment.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agriculture Department, Atomic Energy Commission of Syria, Damascus, Syria

    F. Kurdali, M. Al-Chammaa & F. Al-Ain

Authors
  1. F. Kurdali
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. Al-Chammaa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. F. Al-Ain
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to F. Kurdali.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interests

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kurdali, F., Al-Chammaa, M. & Al-Ain, F. Growth and N2fixation in Saline and/or Water Stressed Sesbania aculeata Plants in Response to Silicon Application. Silicon 11, 781–788 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-018-9884-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-018-9884-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation