Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Bacillus aryabhattai Mitigates the Effects of Salt and Water Stress on the Agronomic Performance of Maize Under an Agroe-Cological System

Henderson Castelo Sousa
* ORCID logo ,
Geocleber Gomes de Sousa
* ORCID logo ,
Thales Vinícius De Araújo Viana
,
Arthur Prudêncio de Araújo Pereira
,
Carla Ingryd Nojosa Lessa
ORCID logo ,
Maria Vanessa Pires de Souza
ORCID logo ,
José Marcelo Da Silva Guilherme
,
Geovana Ferreira Goes
,
Francisco Gleyson Da Silveira Alves
,
Silas Primola Gomes
,
Fred Denilson Barbosa da Silva
Version 1 : Received: 10 April 2023 / Approved: 10 April 2023 / Online: 10 April 2023 (10:15:50 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Castelo Sousa, H.; Gomes de Sousa, G.; de Araújo Viana, T.V.; Prudêncio de Araújo Pereira, A.; Nojosa Lessa, C.I.; Pires de Souza, M.V.; da Silva Guilherme, J.M.; Ferreira Goes, G.; da Silveira Alves, F.G.; Primola Gomes, S.; Barbosa da Silva, F.D. Bacillus aryabhattai Mitigates the Effects of Salt and Water Stress on the Agronomic Performance of Maize under an Agroecological System. Agriculture 2023, 13, 1150. Castelo Sousa, H.; Gomes de Sousa, G.; de Araújo Viana, T.V.; Prudêncio de Araújo Pereira, A.; Nojosa Lessa, C.I.; Pires de Souza, M.V.; da Silva Guilherme, J.M.; Ferreira Goes, G.; da Silveira Alves, F.G.; Primola Gomes, S.; Barbosa da Silva, F.D. Bacillus aryabhattai Mitigates the Effects of Salt and Water Stress on the Agronomic Performance of Maize under an Agroecological System. Agriculture 2023, 13, 1150.

Abstract

The use of plant growth-promoting bacteria can be one option for mitigating the impact of abiotic constraints on different cropping systems in the tropical semi-arid region. The aim of this study was to evaluate growth, leaf gas exchange and yield in maize inoculated with Bacillus aryabhattai, and subjected to water and salt stress. The experiment followed a randomised block design, in a split plot arrangement, with six repetitions. The plots comprised two levels of electrical conductivity for the irrigation water (ECw): 0.3 dS m-1 and 3.0 dS m-1; the subplots consisted of three irrigation depths (ID1: 50%, ID2: 75%, and ID3: 100% of the crop evapotranspiration (ETc)); while the sub-subplots included the presence or absence of Bacillus aryabhattai inoculant. A water deficit of 50% of the ETc resulted in the principal negative effects on growth, reducing the leaf area and stem diameter. The use of Bacillus aryabhattai mitigated salt stress and promoted better leaf gas exchange by increasing the CO2 assimilation rate, stomatal conductance, and internal CO2 concentration. However, irrigation with brackish water (3.0 dS m-1) reduced the instantaneous water use efficiency of the maize. Inoculation partially reduced the effects of abiotic stress due to morpho-physiological traits, and increased yield potential under water deficit with no salt stress.

Keywords

Zea Mays; abiotic stress; microorganisms; salinity; water deficit

Subject

Environmental and Earth Sciences, Other

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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