| Autor: |
Abdelrasheed KG; Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Aswan University, Aswan 81528, Egypt., Mazrou Y; Business Administration Department, Community College, King Khalid University, Abha 62529, Saudi Arabia.; Department of Agriculture Economic, Faculty of Agriculture, Tanta University, Tanta 31527, Egypt., Omara AE; Department of Microbiology, Soils, Water and Environment Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Giza 12112, Egypt., Osman HS; Department of Agricultural Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Hadayek Shubra, Cairo 11241, Egypt., Nehela Y; Department of Agricultural Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Tanta University, Tanta 31527, Egypt.; Citrus Research and Education Center, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida, 700 Experiment Station Rd., Lake Alfred, FL 33850, USA., Hafez EM; Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh 33516, Egypt., Rady AMS; Crop Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture (EL-Shatby), Alexandria University, Alexandria 21545, Egypt., El-Moneim DA; Department of Plant Production (Genetic Branch), Faculty of Environmental Agricultural Sciences, Arish University, El-Arish 45511, Egypt., Alowaiesh BF; Biology Department, College of Science, Jouf University, Sakaka 72341, Saudi Arabia., Gowayed SM; Department of Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt. |
| Abstrakt: |
Water scarcity, due to physical shortage or inadequate access, is a major global challenge that severely affects agricultural productivity and sustainability. Deficit irrigation is a promising strategy to overcome water scarcity, particularly in arid and semiarid regions with limited freshwater resources. However, precise application of deficit irrigation requires a better understanding of the plant response to water/drought stress. In the current study, we investigated the potential impacts of biochar-based soil amendment and foliar potassium-humate application (separately or their combination) on the growth, productivity, and nutritional value of onion ( Allium cepa L.) under deficient irrigation conditions in two separate field trials during the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasons. Our findings showed that deficit irrigation negatively affected onion resilience to drought stress. However, these harmful effects were diminished after soil amendment using biochar, K-humate foliar application, or their combination. Briefly, integrated biochar and K-humate application increased onion growth, boosted the content of the photosynthetic pigments, enhanced the water relations, and increased the yield traits of deficient irrigation onion plants. Moreover, it improved the biochemical response, enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes, and enriched the nutrient value of deficiently irrigated onion plants. Collectively, these findings highlight the potential utilization of biochar and K-humate as sustainable eco-friendly strategies to improve onion resilience to deficit irrigation. |
