Deficit Irrigation with Silicon Application as Strategy to Increase Yield, Photosynthesis and Water Productivity in Lettuce Crops

Deficit Irrigation with Silicon Application as Strategy to Increase Yield, Photosynthesis and Water Productivity in Lettuce Crops

In regions where water is a limited resource, lettuce production can be challenging. To address this, water management strategies like deficit irrigation are used to improve water-use efficiency in agriculture. Associating this strategy with silicon (Si) application could help maintain adequate leve...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plants (Basel) Vol. 13; no. 7; p. 1029
Main Authors: Villa E Vila, Vinícius, Marques, Patricia Angélica Alves, Gomes, Tamara Maria, Nunes, Alan Ferreira, Montenegro, Victório Goulart, Wenneck, Gustavo Soares, Franco, Laís Barreto
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-04-2024
Subjects:
Agricultural practices
Agricultural production
Agricultural research
Agriculture
biostimulant
Brazil
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide concentration
Carotenoids
Chlorophyll
Crop yields
Crops
Efficiency
Environmental aspects
Evapotranspiration
Flowers & plants
Irrigation
irrigation management
Lactuca sativa L
Leaves
Lettuce
Methods
Moisture content
Photosynthesis
Physiological aspects
Physiological effects
Physiology
Plant growth
Productivity
Silicon
Stomata
Stomatal conductance
Sustainable practices
Transpiration
Vegetables
Water availability
Water content
Water deficit
Water management
water saving
Water use
water-use efficiency
Wheat
Brazil
water saving
Lactuca sativa L
irrigation management
biostimulant
water-use efficiency
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Summary:In regions where water is a limited resource, lettuce production can be challenging. To address this, water management strategies like deficit irrigation are used to improve water-use efficiency in agriculture. Associating this strategy with silicon (Si) application could help maintain adequate levels of agricultural production even with limited water availability. Two lettuce crop cycles were conducted in a completely randomized design, with a factorial scheme (2 × 3), with three irrigation levels (60%, 80% and 100%) of crop evapotranspiration (ETc), and with and without Si application. To explore their combined effects, morphological, productive, physiological and nutritional parameters were evaluated in the crops. The results showed that deficit irrigation and Si application had a positive interaction: lettuce yield of the treatment with 80% ETc + Si was statistically similar to 100% ETc without Si in the first cycle, and the treatment with 60% ETc + Si was similar to 100% ETc without Si in the second cycle. Photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, intercellular CO concentration, transpiration rate and total chlorophyll content increased under water-stress conditions with Si application; in the first cycle, the treatment with 80% ETc + Si increased by 30.1%, 31.3%, 7.8%, 28.46% and 50.3% compared to the same treatment without Si, respectively. Si application in conditions of water deficit was also beneficial to obtain a cooler canopy temperature and leaves with higher relative water content. In conclusion, we found that Si applications attenuate water deficit effects and provide a strategy to ameliorate the yield and water productivity in lettuce crops, contributing to more sustainable practices in agriculture.
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ISSN:2223-7747
2223-7747
DOI:10.3390/plants13071029