Interactive effect of soil moisture content and phosphorus fertilizer form on chickpea growth, photosynthesis, and nutrient uptake

Abstract

Water shortage and soil nutrient depletion are considered the main factors limiting crops productivity in the Mediterranean region characterized by longer and frequent drought episodes. In this study, we investigated the interactive effects of P fertilizer form and soil moisture conditions on chickpea photosynthetic activity, water and nutrient uptake, and their consequent effects on biomass accumulation and nutrient use efficiency. Two P fertilizer formulas based on orthophosphates (Ortho-P) and polyphosphates (Poly-P) were evaluated under three irrigation regimes (I1: 75% of field capacity, I2: 50% FC and I3: 25% FC), simulating three probable scenarios of soil water content in the Mediterranean climate (adequate water supply, medium, and severe drought stress), and compared to an unfertilized treatment. The experiment was conducted in a spilt-plot design under a drip fertigation system. The results showed significant changes in chickpea phenotypic and physiological traits in response to different P and water supply regimes. Compared with the unfertilized treatment, the stomata density and conductance, chlorophyll content, photosynthesis efficiency, biomass accumulation, and plant nutrient uptake were significantly improved under P drip fertigation. The obtained results suggested that the P fertilizer form and irrigation regime providing chickpea plants with enough P and water, at the early growth stage, increased the stomatal density and conductance, which significantly improved the photosynthetic performance index (PI_ABS) and P use efficiency (PUE), and consequently biomass accumulation and nutrient uptake. The significant correlations established between leaf stomatal density, PI_ABS, and PUE supported the above hypothesis. We concluded that the Poly-P fertilizers applied in well-watered conditions (I1) performed the best in terms of chickpea growth improvement, nutrient uptake and use efficiency. However, their effectiveness was greatly reduced under water stress conditions, unlike the Ortho-P form which kept stable positive effects on the studied parameters.

Figure 1

Interactive effects of P fertilizer form and irrigation regime on (a) leaf stomatal density and (b) stomatal conductance of chickpea (Cicer arietinum), (c) images of fingernail polish impressions from the abaxial leaf surface of fully expanded leaves, located at the middle of the canopy. Values are means of 6 replicates ± SE, dissimilar letters indicate significant differences at p < 0.05, according to Duncan’s new multiple range test.

Figure 2

Interactive effects of P fertilizer form and irrigation regime on (a) Chl a fluorescence OJIP transient curves, (b) chlorophyll content index (Cicer arietinum), (c) photosynthetic performance index (PI_ABS) for energy conservation from photons absorbed by PSII to the reduction of intersystem electron acceptors, and (d) driving force on absorption basis, suggested for estimating the driving force of processes evaluated by the corresponding PI_ABS (DF_ABS) in chickpea plants (Cicer arietinum). Values are means of 6 replicates ± SE, dissimilar letters indicate significant differences at p < 0.05, according to Duncan’s new multiple range test.

Figure 3

Interactive effects of P fertilizer form and irrigation regime on (a) specific leaf area and (b) total leaf number per plant in chickpea (Cicer arietinum). Values are means of 6 replicates ± SE, dissimilar letters indicate significant differences at p < 0.05, according to Duncan’s new multiple range test.

Figure 4

Interactive effects of P fertilizer form and irrigation regime on (a) shoot dry weight, (b) root dry weight, and (c) root/shoot ratio of chickpea (Cicer arietinum). Values are means of 6 replicates ± SE, dissimilar letters indicate significant differences at p < 0.05, according to Duncan’s new multiple range test.

Figure 5

Interactive effects of P fertilizer form and irrigation regime on (a) phosphorus uptake, (b) phosphorus use efficiency, and (c) irrigation water productivity of chickpea (Cicer arietinum). Values are means of 6 replicates ± SE, dissimilar letters indicate significant differences at p < 0.05, according to Duncan’s new multiple range test.

Figure 6

Correlations between stomatal density and (a) stomatal conductance, (b) photosynthetic performance index (PI_ABS), and (c) between PI_ABS and phosphorus use efficiency in chickpea plants (Cicer arietinum) grown under different P fertilizer forms and irrigation regimes. Asterisks *, **, and *** denote Pearson correlation significance at p < 0.05, p < 0.01, and p < 0.001, respectively.