Study on Regulation Mechanism of Tomato Root Growth in Greenhouse under Cycle Aerated Subsurface Drip Irrigation

Qian Zhang; Peng Zhang; Yunpeng Deng; Chitao Sun; Xiaoxu Tian; Bingcheng Si; Bo Li; Xiaohong Guo; Fusheng Liu; Zhenhua Zhang

doi:10.3390/agronomy12112609

Agronomy (Oct 2022)

Study on Regulation Mechanism of Tomato Root Growth in Greenhouse under Cycle Aerated Subsurface Drip Irrigation

Qian Zhang,
Peng Zhang,
Yunpeng Deng,
Chitao Sun,
Xiaoxu Tian,
Bingcheng Si,
Bo Li,
Xiaohong Guo,
Fusheng Liu,
Zhenhua Zhang

Affiliations

Qian Zhang: College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China
Peng Zhang: College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China
Yunpeng Deng: College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China
Chitao Sun: College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China
Xiaoxu Tian: College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China
Bingcheng Si: School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China
Bo Li: Shandong Academy of Agricultural Science, Jinan 250100, China
Xiaohong Guo: School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China
Fusheng Liu: College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China
Zhenhua Zhang: School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12112609
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 12, no. 11
p. 2609

Abstract

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Aerobic irrigation can effectively improve the oxygen environment in the root zone, and enhance crop quality and yield. However, how aerobic irrigation regulates root growth has not been elucidated. In this study, tomato plants were irrigated with three levels of oxygen (high, medium, and low) under underground drip irrigation. The morphology, activity, transcriptome, and hormone content of tomato roots under oxygen irrigation were analyzed. We found that the aeration irrigation significantly promoted root development. Notably, in the high-aeration irrigation treatment (HAI), the total root length, total surface area, total volume, and root activity were 12.41%, 43.2%, 79.1%, and 24.15% higher than in the non-aeration irrigation treatment (CK), respectively. The transcriptome of tomato roots under aeration irrigation was determined with a total of 272 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 131 up-regulated and 141 down-regulated genes. The Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) analysis revealed that the DEGs were enriched mainly in the metabolic pathways and plant hormone signal transduction. Among the plant hormone signal transduction, 50% of DEGs belonged to IAA signal-related genes and were upregulated. LC-MS analysis showed that the content of auxin hormones in the tomato roots subjected to aeration irrigation was significantly higher than that in CK. The content of Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), Indole-3-carboxylic acid (ICA) and Indole-3-carboxaldehyde (ICAld) were 2.3, 2.14 and 1.45 times higher than those of the CK, but insignificant effects were exerted on the contents of cytokinins, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, abscisic acid, and ethylene. Meanwhile, the key enzyme of auxin synthesis flavin monooxygenase (YUCCA) was significantly up-regulated. The aforementioned results show that aeration irrigation may promote the growth and development of roots by auxin regulation.

Published in Agronomy

ISSN: 2073-4395 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Agriculture
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy

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