Faizy Waad S, Alsawaf Ahmed, Al-Zuhairi Faris, Mustafa Zeyad Amer, Sanam Marwan Abdullah, Meftahizade Heidar
Department of Plant Production Techniques, Agricultural Technical College Northern Technical University Mosul Iraq.
Department of Desertification Control Technologies College of Agricultural Technology Northern Technical University Mosul Iraq.
Food Sci Nutr. 2025 Aug 4;13(8):e70695. doi: 10.1002/fsn3.70695. eCollection 2025 Aug.
Drought stress (DS) in arid and semi-arid ecosystems poses a significant barrier to pomegranate cultivation, profoundly affecting fruit quality and agricultural productivity. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the effects of DS at levels of 100%, 70%, 40%, and 20% field capacity (FC), and the foliar application of Jasmonic acid (JA) at concentrations of 0, 5, 25, and 50 μM, on the physiological and biochemical traits of pomegranate leaves and fruits over two consecutive years. The evaluated traits included relative water content (RWC), membrane stability index (MSI), chlorophyll index (SPAD), photochemical efficiency of photosystem II ( / ), hydrogen peroxide (HO), and superoxide dismutase activity (SOD) in leaves, as well as total phenolic compounds (TPC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), anthocyanins, total soluble solids (TSS), and weight loss in pomegranate fruits. The results demonstrated that DS, particularly at 20% field capacity, significantly reduced RWC, MSI, SPAD, and / , whereas increasing HO and SOD levels. Jasmonic acid application effectively mitigated these adverse effects, with higher concentrations (25 and 50 μM) markedly improving the plant's physiological stability. In fruits, both DS and JA application enhanced TPC, TAC, anthocyanins, and TSS. Conversely, in fruit, DS increased weight loss, which was less pronounced during fruit sprayed with JA. The beneficial effects of JA, especially in higher JA concentrations, were also observed in both years, mainly under severe DS (FC40 and FC20), highlighting its crucial role in the improvement of mechanisms related to plant tolerance under water deficit. These results accentuate the effectiveness of JA in improving the physiological and biochemical responses of pomegranate under DS and provide an affordable alternative for sustainable management of crops in arid and semi-arid areas.
干旱和半干旱生态系统中的干旱胁迫对石榴种植构成了重大障碍，深刻影响果实品质和农业生产力。本研究的主要目的是调查100%、70%、40%和20%田间持水量（FC）水平的干旱胁迫以及0、5、25和50 μM浓度的茉莉酸（JA）叶面喷施对连续两年石榴叶片和果实生理生化特性的影响。评估的性状包括叶片中的相对含水量（RWC）、膜稳定性指数（MSI）、叶绿素指数（SPAD）、光系统II的光化学效率（ / ）、过氧化氢（HO）和超氧化物歧化酶活性（SOD），以及石榴果实中的总酚化合物（TPC）、总抗氧化能力（TAC）、花青素、总可溶性固形物（TSS）和重量损失。结果表明，干旱胁迫，尤其是在20%田间持水量时，显著降低了RWC、MSI、SPAD和 / ，同时提高了HO和SOD水平。喷施茉莉酸有效减轻了这些不利影响，较高浓度（25和50 μM）显著提高了植物的生理稳定性。在果实中，干旱胁迫和喷施茉莉酸均提高了TPC、TAC、花青素和TSS。相反，在果实中，干旱胁迫增加了重量损失，在喷施茉莉酸的果实中这种情况不太明显。在这两年中均观察到茉莉酸的有益效果，尤其是在较高茉莉酸浓度下，主要是在严重干旱胁迫（FC40和FC20）下，突出了其在改善水分亏缺条件下植物耐受性相关机制中的关键作用。这些结果强调了茉莉酸在改善干旱胁迫下石榴生理生化反应方面的有效性，并为干旱和半干旱地区作物的可持续管理提供了一种经济实惠的替代方案。
