The impact of hydrogel bioinoculants in plant resistance to drought conditions

abstrakt

angličtina

Climate change has a significant influence on an agricultural production worldwide. Watering of plants and crops is essential and desirable, nevertheless consistent high temperatures demand careful monitoring and optimization of irrigation practices to mitigate water loss and maintain crop yields. One potential solution for retaining water could be the implementation of hydrogels with encapsulated plant-growth promoting bacteria (PGPR). Azotobacter vinelandii belongs to PGPR and shows biological activities for the stimulation of plant growth and is capable of synthesizing two completely different biopolymers with great application potential. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are produced and stored in the form of intracellular granules improving cell robustness, while alginate is produced extracellularly and used for bacterial protection. In this work, hydrogels with encapsulated bacteria, by direct gelation of bacterial alginate, are formed and employed into the soil with lettuce seeds. After 40 days of plant grow, we stopped watering the plants and observed how the plants were influenced by drought. The experiment showed positive results not only in the improved condition of plants (including higher biomass and increased content of both plants and roots), but also in higher resistance to drought in treated plants compared to untreated ones.

hydrogels, PGPR, alginate, drought stress

ČERNAYOVÁ, D.; ROUSK, J.; SEDLÁČEK, P.; OBRUČA, S.

17. 4. 2024

International Conference on Chemical Technology, Mikulov