The interaction effects of selenium and zinc on growth and some biochemical parameters of shallot (Allium hirtifolium Boiss) under drought stress conditions

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran

10.22034/plant.2026.145197.1188

Abstract

Introduction: Drought stress represents the primary factor that diminishes the yield of crop products. Under such conditions, the application of nutrients like selenium and zinc may enhance the plant's resilience to drought stress by favorably influencing biochemical and physiological processes. To explore this, an experiment was conducted to assess the impact of varying concentrations of selenium and zinc combinations on the morphological, physiological, and production characteristics of Persian shallot (Allium hirtifolium Boiss.) under drought stress conditions.
Materials and Methods: This experiment was designed as a factorial in a randomized complete block design with four replications at the Shahrekord University research farm during the 2023-2024 period. The first factor involved levels of drought stress, which included no drought stress (maintaining 85% of field capacity moisture) and drought stress (maintaining 50% of field capacity moisture). The second factor comprised the combinations of selenium and zinc, which included Se1Zn1: control, Se2Zn2: 3 mg/L selenium plus 50 mg/L zinc, Se3Zn3: 6 mg/L selenium plus 100 mg/L zinc, Se4Zn4: 9 mg/L selenium plus 150 mg/L zinc, and Se5Zn5: 12 mg/L selenium plus 200 mg/L zinc, sourced from sodium selenate and zinc sulfate, respectively.
Results: The results from the variance analysis indicated that the effects of drought stress, the combinations of selenium and zinc, and the interaction between drought stress and nutrient combinations on leaf relative moisture content, proline content, malondialdehyde content, leaf fresh weight, and root fresh weight were significant. Additionally, photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoids) were significantly influenced by drought stress (P < 0.01). The combinations of selenium and zinc had a significant impact on the fresh weight of both the bulb and sister bulb at the 1% probability level, while their interaction was significant at the 5% probability level. Furthermore, the influence of drought stress, along with selenium and zinc combinations, on the selenium content, zinc content, and allicin content of the Persian shallot bulb was also significant at the 1% probability level. In conditions of drought stress, the leaf relative moisture content and proline content increased by 24% and 94%, respectively, in the Se3Zn3 treatment when compared to the control treatment. Across both moisture conditions, malondialdehyde content was observed to decrease in all nutritional treatments. Additionally, leaf fresh weight showed a significant increase in the Se3Zn3 treatment relative to the control, although it decreased at higher concentrations of applied nutrients. The root fresh weight in the Se3Zn3 treatment was comparable to that of the control treatment, but it also decreased at higher nutrient concentrations. A notable increase in bulb fresh weight and sister bulb fresh weight was recorded in the Se3Zn3 treatment compared to the control. Drought stress led to a significant reduction in the content of photosynthetic pigments when compared to non-stressed conditions. Under drought stress, elevated concentrations of selenium and zinc resulted in a decrease in the content of these nutrients as well as the allicin content of the bulb, with reductions of 25%, 20%, and 46% for selenium, zinc, and allicin content, respectively, in comparison to non-stressed conditions.
Conclusion: In this study, the combination of 6 mg/L selenium and 100 mg/L zinc exhibited the most beneficial impact on the morphological and physiological characteristics of Persian shallot. This specific concentration of the nutrient mixture mitigated the effects of drought stress on growth indices by enhancing antioxidant capacity and boosting photosynthetic efficiency, likely increasing the plant's resilience to drought stress through the reinforcement of biochemical mechanisms, ultimately leading to improved production potential and product quality. Furthermore, the synergistic application of selenium and zinc in non-stress conditions also enhanced the potential for tuber yield and the quality of the tubers in terms of selenium content.

Keywords

References

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