Journal of Crops Improvement

Current Issue

By Issue

By Author

By Subject

Author Index

Keyword Index

About Journal

Aims and Scope

Editorial Board

Publication Ethics

Indexing and Abstracting

Related Links

FAQ

Peer Review Process

Journal Metrics

News

Reviewers

Publons Membership and Review Guide

Instructions for removing the reviewers's name from the comments in Word

Improving Nutrient Uptake and Growth of Echinacea Purpurea by Combined Application of Biofertilizers and Salicylic Acid under Different Irrigation Regimes in Saline Soil Conditions

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D Student, Department of Agrotechnology, Fa.C., Islamic Azad University, Fasa, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Agronomy, Fa.C., Islamic Azad University, Fasa, Iran

3 Associate Professor, Soil and Water Research Department, Fars Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Shiraz, Iran

4 Assistant Professor, Department of Agronomy, Fa.C., Islamic Azad University, Fasa, Iran

10.22059/jci.2026.395185.2938

Abstract

Objective: Ameliorating resources (AR) play an important role in plant growth under environmental stress conditions by improving nutrient absorption and balancing physiological traits. The aim of this study was to investigate the nutrient absorption and physiological traits and growth of Echinacea purpurea with arbuscular mycorrhiza fungus (AMF), Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria (PFB) and salicylic acid (SA) foliar application in a saline soil under drought stress.
Method: A field experiment was conducted as split plot in a randomized complete block design, during two consecutive years (2022 and 2023) with two harvests of Echinacea purpurea. The main factor was irrigation regimes included 25, 50, and 75% available water depletion (AWD) and the subfactor consisted of AR in eight levels including control (no AR), AMF, PFB, SA, AMF+ PFB, AMF+ SA, PFB+ SA and AMF+ PFB+ SA. The first, second and third irrigations were carried out based on the control irrigation treatment with 25% moisture depletion, for proper establishment of the seedlings. After the third irrigation, the other irrigation treatments were applied. Nutrient uptake, physiological traits, plant height, and above-ground biomass yield were measured.
Results: The results showed that in irrigation of 25 and 50% AWD, the highest leaf nitrogen and phosphorus were observed in AMF + PFB + SA. Also, the combination of AMF+ PFB+ SA increased leaf potassium by 16 and 30%, in irrigation of 50 and 75% AWD, respectively. The greenness index in irrigation regimes with 75% moisture depletion showed a 12.81% decrease compared to 25% moisture depletion. The highest greenness index value was observed in the combination of AMF+ PFB+ SA. Also, the dual combination of AR increased leaf relative water content and photosynthesis rate compared to the control. In the first and second harvest, chlorophyll b content decreased by 15 and 17%, respectively, at irrigation intervals of 75% AWD compared to 25% AWD. In the first and second harvest, biological yield in AMF+ PFB+ SA increased by 15 and 13%, respectively, compared to the control.
Conclusion: In general, due to the positive effects of AMF+ PFB+ SA on photosynthetic and yield indices of Echinacea, this treatment can be recommended under drought stress condition.




Keywords

References
Anderson, R., Bayer, P.E., & Edwards, D. (2020). Climate change and the need for agricultural adaptation. Current opinion in Plant Biology, 56, 197-202.
Arif, Y., Sami, F., Siddiqui, H., Bajguz, A., & Hayat, S. (2020). Salicylic acid in relation to other phytohormones in plant: A study towards physiology and signal transduction under challenging environment. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 175, 10404
Arnon, D. E. (1949). Copper enzymes in isolated chloroplasts polyphenol oxidase (Beta vulgaris). Plant Physiology, 24, 1-15.
Ashraf, M., Akram, N., Arteca, R., & Foolad, M.R. (2010). The physiological, biochemical and molecular roles of brassinosteroids and salicylic acid in plant processes and salt tolerance. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 29, 162-190.
Aslani, Z., Hassani, A., Mandoulakani, B.A., Barin, M., & Maleki, R. (2023). Effect of drought stress and inoculation treatments on nutrient uptake, essential oil and expression of genes related to monoterpenes in sage (Salvia officinalis). Scientia Horticulturae, 309, 111610.
Attarzadeh, M., Balouchi, H., Rajaie, M., Dehnavi, M.M., & Salehi, A. (2019). Improvement of Echinacea purpurea performance by integration of phosphorus with soil microorganisms under different irrigation regimes. Agricultural Water Management, 221, 238-247.
Attarzadeh, M., Balouchi, H., Rajaie, M., Dehnavi, M.M., & Salehi, A. (2020). Improving growth and phenolic compounds of Echinacea purpurea root by integrating biological and chemical resources of phosphorus under water deficit stress. Industrial Crops and Products, 154, 112763.
Begum, N., Akhtar, K., Ahangar, M., Igbal, M., Wang, P., Mustafa, N. S., & Zhang, L. (2021). Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi improve growth, essential oil, secondary metabolism, and yield of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) under drought stress conditions. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28, 45276-45295.
Ben Laouane, R., Meddich, A., Bechtaoui, N., Oufdou, K., & Wahbi, S. (2019). Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobia symbiosis on the tolerance of Medicago sativa to salt stress. Gesunde Pflanzen, 71, 135-146.
Billah, M.M., Hosen, M.B., Khan, F., & Niaz, K. (2019). Echinacea, Nonvitamin and Nonmineral Nutritional Supplements. Elsevier, United Kingdom. http://10.1016/B978-0-12-812491-8.00029-1
Bisht, N., Singh, T., Ansari, M., Joshi, H., Mishra, S.K., & Chauhan, P.S. (2025). Plant growth-promoting Bacillus amyloliquefaciens orchestrate homeostasis under nutrient deficiency exacerbated drought and salinity stress in Oryza sativa L. seedlings. Planta, 261, 1-19.
Burd, G.I., Dixon, D.G., & Glick, B.R. (2000). Plant growth promoting bacteria that decrease heavy metal toxicity in plants. Canadian Journal of Microbiology, 46, 237-245.
Cao, C., & Kindscher, K., )2016(. The medicinal chemistry of Echinacea species. Echinacea: Herbal Medicine with a Wild History, 127-145.
Chishti, A.S., Uddin, M., Singh, S., Singh, S., Bhat, U.H., & Khan, M.M.A. (2024). Exogenous application of salicylic acid and putrescine triggers physiological and biochemical changes in plants to improve growth and bioactive constituents of Ammi majus L. Fitoterapia, 178, 106148.
Darvizheh, H., Zahedi, M., Abbaszadeh, B., & Razmjoo, J. (2019). Changes in some antioxidant enzymes and physiological indices of purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea L.) in response to water deficit and foliar application of salicylic acid and spermine under field condition. Scientia horticulturae, 247, 390-399.
Desoky, E.-S.M., Saad, A.M., El-Saadony, M.T., Merwad, A.-R.M., & Rady, M.M. (2020). Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria: Potential improvement in antioxidant defense system and suppression of oxidative stress for alleviating salinity stress in Triticum aestivum (L.) plants. Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology, 30, 101878.
Farhangi-Abriz, S., Alaee, T., & Tavasolee, A. (2019). Salicylic acid but not jasmonic acid improved canola root response to salinity stress. Rhizosphere, 9, 69-71.
Ghassemi-Golezani, K., & Abdoli, S. (2021). Improving ATPase and PPase activities, nutrient uptake and growth of salt stressed ajowan plants by salicylic acid and iron-oxide nanoparticles. Plant Cell Reports, 40, 559-573.
Ghorchiani, M., Akbari, G., Alikhani, H., Zarei, M., & Allahdadi, I. (2013). Effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Pseudomonas fluorescens on phosphorus fertilizer use efficiency, mycorrhizal dependence and maize yield under water deficit conditions. Journal of Water and Soil Science. 17, 123-136.
Hayat, K., Bundschuh, J., Jan, F., Menhas, S., Hayat, S., Haq, F., Shah, M.A., Chaudhary, H.J., Ullah, A., & Zhang, D. (2020). Combating soil salinity with combining saline agriculture and phytomanagement with salt-accumulating plants. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 50, 1085-1115.
Iqbal, N., Fatma, M., Gautam, H., Sehar, Z., Rasheed, F., Khan, M.I.R., Sofo, A., & Khan, N.A. (2022). Salicylic acid increases photosynthesis of drought grown mustard plants effectively with sufficient-N via regulation of ethylene, abscisic acid, and nitrogen-use efficiency. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, 41, 1966-1977.
Jabborova, D., Annapurna, K., Paul, S., Kumar, S., Saad, H.A., Desouky, S., Ibrahim, M.F., & Elkelish, A. (2021). Beneficial features of biochar and arbuscular mycorrhiza for improving spinach plant growth, root morphological traits, physiological properties, and soil enzymatic activities. Journal of Fungi, 7, 571.
Karimi, R., & Noori, A. (2022). Streptomyces rimosus rhizobacteria and Glomus mosseae mycorrhizal fungus inoculation alleviate salinity stress in grapevine through morphophysiological changes and nutritional balance. Scientia Horticulturae, 305, 111433.
Khorasaninejad, S., Alizadeh Ahmadabadi, A., & Hemmati, K. (2018). The effect of humic acid on leaf morphophysiological and phytochemical properties of Echinacea purpurea L. under water deficit stress. Scientia Horticulturae, 239, 314-323.
Kindscher, K. (2016). Echinacea: Herbal medicine with a wild history. Springer.
Lee, B. R., Islam, M.T., Park, S. H., Jung, H.-I., Bae, D.-W., & Kim, T.-H. (2019). Characterization of salicylic acid-mediated modulation of the drought stress responses: Reactive oxygen species, proline, and redox state in Brassica napus. Environmental and experimental botany, 157, 1-10.
Mekureyaw, M.F., Pandey, C., Hennessy, R.C., Nicolaisen, M.H., Liu, F., Nybroe, O., & Roitsch, T., (2022). The cytokinin-producing plant beneficial bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens G20-18 primes tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) for enhanced drought stress responses. Journal of Plant Physiology, 270, 153629.
Mishra, P., Mishra, J., & Arora, N.K. (2021). Plant growth promoting bacteria for combating salinity stress in plants–recent developments and prospects: a review. Microbiological Research, 252, 126861.
Mitra, D., Nayeri, F.D., Sansinenea, E., Ortiz, A., Bhatta, B.B., Adeyemi, N.O., Janeeshma, E., Tawfeeq Al-Ani, L.K., Sharma, S.B., & Boutaj, H. (2023). Unraveling arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi interaction in rice for plant growth development and enhancing phosphorus use efficiency through recent development of regulatory genes. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 46, 3184-3220.
Moradi, S., Sajedi, N.A., Madani, H., Gomarian, M., & Chavoshi, S. (2023). Integrated effects of nitrogen fertilizer, biochar, and salicylic acid on yield and fatty acid profile of six rapeseed cultivars. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 23, 380-397.
Muchate, N.S., Nikalje, G.C., Rajurkar, N.S., Suprasanna, P., & Nikam, T.D. (2016). Plant salt stress: adaptive responses, tolerance mechanism and bioengineering for salt tolerance, The Botanical Review, 82, 371-406.
Parvin, S., Van Geel, M., Yeasmin, T., Verbruggen, E., &  Honnay, O. (2020). Effects of single and multiple species inocula of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the salinity tolerance of a Bangladeshi rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivar. Mycorrhiza, 30, 431-444.
Raza, M.A.S., Haider, I., Farrukh Saleem, M., Iqbal, R., Usman Aslam, M., Ahmad, S., & Abbasi, S.H. (2021). Integrating biochar, rhizobacteria and silicon for strenuous productivity of drought stressed wheat. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 52, 338-352.
Saleem, M., Fariduddin, Q., & Castroverde, C.D.M. (2021). Salicylic acid: A key regulator of redox signalling and plant immunity. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 168, 381-397.
Saud, Sh., Fahad, Sh., Cui, G., Yajun, Ch., & Anwar, S. (2020). Determining nitrogen isotopes discrimination under drought stress on enzymatic activities, nitrogen isotope abundance and water contents of Kentucky bluegrass. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 6415.
Seleiman, M.F., Refay, Y., Al-Suhaibani, N., Al-Ashkar, I., El-Hendawy, S., & Hafez, E.M. (2019). Integrative effects of rice-straw biochar and silicon on oil and seed quality, yield and physiological traits of Helianthus annuus L. grown under water deficit stress. Agronomy, 9, 637.
Sun, J., Jia, Q., Li, Y., Zhang, T., Chen, J., Ren, Y., Dong, K., Xu, S., Shi, N.-N., & Fu, S. (2022). Effects of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Biochar on Growth, Nutrient Absorption, and Physiological Properties of Maize (Zea mays L.). Journal of Fungi, 8, 1275.
Weatherely, P. E. (1950). Studies in water relation on cotton plants, the field measurement of water deficit in leaves. New Phytologist, 49, 81- 87.
Yang, Q., Ravnskov, S., Pullens, J.W.M., & Andersen, M.N. (2022). Interactions between biochar, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and photosynthetic processes in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.). Science of the Total Environment, 816, 151649.
Yasmeen, T., Tariq, M., Iqbal, S., Arif, M.S., Riaz, M., Shahzad, S.M., Ali, S., Noman, M., & Li, T. (2019). Ameliorative capability of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) against salt stress in plant. Plant Abiotic Stress Tolerance: Agronomic, Molecular and Biotechnological Approaches, 409- 448.
Zarrinabadi, I.G., Razmjoo, J., Mashhadi, A.A., & Boroomand, A. (2019). Physiological response and productivity of pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) genotypes under water deficit. Industrial Crops and Products, 139, 111488.
Zhang, J., Bai, Z., Huang, J., Hussain, S., Zhao, F., Zhu, C., Zhu, L., Cao, X., & Jin, Q. (2019). Biochar alleviated the salt stress of induced saline paddy soil and improved the biochemical characteristics of rice seedlings differing in salt tolerance. Soil and Tillage Research, 195, 104372.
Zia, R., Nawaz, M.S., Siddique, M.J., Hakim, S., & Imran, A. (2021). Plant survival under drought stress: Implications, adaptive responses, and integrated rhizosphere management strategy for stress mitigation. Microbiological Research, 242, 126626.
Journal of Crops Improvement
Volume 28, Issue 1
April 2026
Pages 21-37
Files
Share
How to cite
Statistics