Enhancing faba bean (Vicia faba) productivity under drought stress through modulation of physiological traits and antioxidant enzyme system using thiourea and hydrogel
Abstract Background Due to limited water supplies and rapid population growth, most countries are facing significant challenges with agricultural output. Most efforts have concentrated on utilizing soil additives to enhance soil properties and boost water use efficiency. The purpose of this study wa...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2025-07-01
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| Series: | BMC Plant Biology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06904-0 |
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| Summary: | Abstract Background Due to limited water supplies and rapid population growth, most countries are facing significant challenges with agricultural output. Most efforts have concentrated on utilizing soil additives to enhance soil properties and boost water use efficiency. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of thiourea and hydrogel applications on faba bean (Vicia faba) plants under water shortage conditions. Two field experiments were conducted to study the effects of thiourea at concentrations of (200, 400, and 600 mg/L) and hydrogel soil amendments at rates of (0 and 75 kg/ha) on faba bean plants under 100% (5950 m3/ha/season) and 50% (2975 m3/ha/season) of irrigation water requirements (IWR) in sandy soil. Results The findings revealed that an irrigation water shortage (50%) of irrigation water requirements; induced significant reductions in all growth parameters, photosynthetic pigments, and yield in contrast with 100% IWR. The seed yield was lowered by 35.91 and 32.54% at 50% IWR without and with hydrogel addition, respectively. However, the external application of thiourea significantly mitigated the negative effects of water shortage. The plants treated with thiourea showed increases in all growth criteria, photosynthetic pigments, compatible solutes, IAA, and phenolics and also improved the activities of peroxidase (POX), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) as compared with untreated plants. Also, the amendment of hydrogel to soil mitigates all tested parameters. The amount of absorbed water increased by 39.68 and 45.53% with thiourea (400 mg/L) in the absence and presence of hydrogel, respectively as compared with the control (50% IWR). In general, the application of 400 mg/L thiourea with hydrogel (75 kg/ha) induced the most pronounced increase in seed yield (quantity and quality) and its attributes. Conclusion Under drought conditions (50% IWR), foliar spraying with thiourea and hydrogel amendment to sandy soil not only positively affected water potential, osmolytes, chlorophyll and carotenoids contents, but also significantly changed the activities of antioxidant enzymes that enabled faba bean plants to withstand drought and increased productivity. |
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| ISSN: | 1471-2229 |