Gorim Linda, Asch Folkard
51 Campus Drive Saskatoon, Department of Plant Sciences College of Agriculture and Bioresources, University of Saskatchewan, SK S7N5A8, Canada.
Institute for Agricultural Sciences in the Tropics (Hans-Ruthenberg-Institute) Garbenstr. 13, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany.
Biology (Basel). 2017 Jul 31;6(3):33. doi: 10.3390/biology6030033.
Climate change poses a threat to sorghum production systems by shifting the onset of the rainy season to a later date, increasing the risk of crop failure during crop establishment. The effects of drought on sorghum during seedling establishment have not been determined. Coating seeds with a water absorbing substance offers a way to buffer the seed against insufficient moisture in the surrounding soil. Seeds of two different sorghum varieties were coated with one of two commercially available hydro-absorbers: Stokosorb and Geohumus. These hydro-absorbers have the capacity to store water several times their own weight. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of the cited hydro-absorbers on early seedling growth of two sorghum landraces under different levels of soil water deficit. Seedlings were grown for 12 days under three water availability levels (Field capacity (FC), 50% of FC, and 25% of FC). The seedlings under water limited treatments were subsequently re-watered. Biomass, root length, plant height, leaf area, and leaf extension rate were monitored in two-day intervals for 24 days. Coating strongly affected seedling growth both under fully watered and water deficit conditions. Sorghum varieties differed in their responses to both soil water deficit and coating materials. In general, Stockosorb improved seedling performance under water limited conditions particularly by promoting root growth, whereas Geohumus did not.
气候变化对高粱生产系统构成威胁，它将雨季开始时间推迟，增加了作物种植期歉收的风险。干旱对高粱幼苗期的影响尚未确定。用吸水物质包衣种子为缓冲种子免受周围土壤水分不足影响提供了一种方法。两种不同高粱品种的种子用两种市售吸水剂之一进行包衣：斯托科索布（Stokosorb）和地腐殖质（Geohumus）。这些吸水剂能够储存数倍于自身重量的水分。本研究的目的是比较上述吸水剂在不同土壤水分亏缺水平下对两个高粱地方品种幼苗早期生长的影响。幼苗在三种水分可利用水平（田间持水量（FC）、FC的50%和FC的25%）下生长12天。水分受限处理下的幼苗随后重新浇水。在24天内每隔两天监测生物量、根长、株高、叶面积和叶片伸展率。包衣在充分浇水和水分亏缺条件下均对幼苗生长有强烈影响。高粱品种对土壤水分亏缺和包衣材料的反应有所不同。总体而言，斯托科索布在水分受限条件下改善了幼苗表现，特别是通过促进根系生长，而地腐殖质则没有。
