National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Khlong Luang, Pathum Thani, 12120, Thailand.
Department of Environment Studies, Faculty of Science, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, India.
Plant Physiol Biochem. 2023 Sep;202:107927. doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2023.107927. Epub 2023 Aug 3.
Indian pennywort (Centella asiatica L. Urban; Apiaceae) is a herbaceous plant used as traditional medicine in several regions worldwide. An adequate supply of fresh water in accordance with crop requirements is an important tool for maintaining the productivity and quality of medicinal plants. The objective of this study was to find a suitable irrigation schedule for improving the morphological and physiological characteristics, and crop productivity of Indian pennywort using high-throughput phenotyping. Four treatments were considered based on irrigation schedules (100, 75, 50, and 25% of field capacity denoted by I [control], I, I, and I, respectively). The number of leaves, plant perimeter, plant volume, and shoot dry weight were sustained in I irrigated plants, whereas adverse effects on plant growth parameters were observed when plants were subjected to I irrigation for 21 days. Leaf temperature (T) was also retained in I irrigated plants, when compared with control. An increase of 2.0 °C temperature was detected in the T of plants under I irrigation treatment when compared with control. The increase in T was attributed to a decreased transpiration rate (R = 0.93), leading to an elevated crop water stress index. Green reflectance and leaf greenness remained unchanged in plants under I irrigation, while significantly decreased under I and I irrigation. These decreases were attributed to declined leaf osmotic potential, increased non-photochemical quenching, and inhibition of net photosynthetic rate (P). The asiatic acid and total centellosides in the leaf tissues, and centellosides yield of plants under I irrigation were retained when compared with control, while these parameters were regulated to maximal when exposed to I irrigation. Based on the results, I irrigation treatment was identified as the optimum irrigation schedule for Indian pennywort in terms of sustained biomass and a stable total centellosides. However, further validation in the field trials at multiple locations and involving different crop rotations is recommended to confirm these findings.
印度积雪草（Centella asiatica L. Urban；伞形科）是一种草本植物，在世界上许多地区被用作传统药物。根据作物需求提供充足的淡水是保持药用植物生产力和质量的重要手段。本研究的目的是找到一种合适的灌溉制度，以提高印度积雪草的形态和生理特性，以及作物的生产力，使用高通量表型。根据灌溉制度（田间持水量的 100%、75%、50%和 25%分别表示为 I[对照]、I、I 和 I），考虑了四种处理。在 I 灌溉植物中，叶片数量、植物周长、植物体积和地上部干重保持不变，而当植物在 I 灌溉下生长 21 天时，观察到对植物生长参数的不利影响。与对照相比，在 I 灌溉植物中也保留了叶片温度（T）。与对照相比，在 I 灌溉处理下，植物的 T 升高了 2.0°C。T 的升高归因于蒸腾速率（R=0.93）的降低，导致作物水分胁迫指数升高。在 I 灌溉下，植物的绿色反射率和叶片绿色度保持不变，而在 I 和 I 灌溉下显著降低。这些降低归因于叶片渗透势下降、非光化学猝灭增加以及净光合速率（P）抑制。与对照相比，I 灌溉下植物叶片组织中的积雪草酸和总积雪草苷以及积雪草苷产量保持不变，而在暴露于 I 灌溉下时，这些参数被调节至最大值。基于这些结果，I 灌溉处理被确定为印度积雪草在维持生物量和稳定总积雪草苷方面的最佳灌溉制度。然而，建议在多个地点和涉及不同作物轮作的田间试验中进一步验证这些发现。
