Effect of drought stress on Brassica crops and its mitigation by inoculation of PGPR
By: Maimona Saeed, Noshin Ilyas, Abida Akram, Naveed Raja, Roomina Mazhar, Fatima Bibi, Wajiha Seerat, Sidra Kanwal, Nazima Batool
Key Words: Drought, Brassicaceae, Induce systemic tolerance, PGPR.
Int. J. Biosci. 9(6), 282-291, December 2016.Generate Certificate]
Abiotic stress is one of major cause of reduction in growth and productivity of crops. Water deficient is drastic environmental stress that interacts with metabolic pathways and finally productivity of various plants. Members of family Brassicaceae (canola and mustard) are cultivated as oil yielding crops all over the world. Morphological and physiological parameters of plants are greatly affected by drought stress, which cause decline in productivity of crops. Water stress is responsible for significant reduction in the amount of linolenic acid and increases contents of glucosinolates in oil. Adaptation of different strategies for efficient use of soil moisture and reduction in drastic effect of drought has been a focal point for agriculture. In this aspect, one important strategy for enhancing the size of plant in water deficient condition is use of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria as inoculum. Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria are naturally occurring in the rhizosphere which improve size of plants by various direct and indirect methods. PGPR also have potential to impart resistance in agricultural plants against unfavorable condition and can mitigate the deleterious effect of drought by processes known to as induce systemic tolerance (IST). Inoculation of plants with Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria improves the metabolic processes of plant and consequently enhances the crop productivity. Owing to its importance, the present review describes the impact of water deficit condition on various morphological and yield parameters of Brassica crops as well as its mitigation by using inoculum of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria.