Mecanismos de tolerância ao déficit hídrico em espécies de forrageiras nativas dos campos sul-brasileiros

Abstract

Many native species from southern brazilian rangelands have elevated potencial to be cultivated as forage and could be used to develop more productive and adapted materials to stress caused by climate changes such as some legume species: Macroptilium lathyroides L., Vigna luteola Jacq. and Desmodium incanum DC. The aim of this work was to characterize some biochemical and physiological adaptation mechanisms to stress caused by soil water deficit in native legume species from southern brazilian rangelands. Seeds were collected from native rangelands plants and planted in foam box cells containing commercial substrate (turf with nutrients) and grown under green house conditions. Plants were transferred to 3 L perforate plastic pots containing turf and soil in a 1:1 proportion, 49 days after sowing. Water deficit treatments were applied by stopping the irrigation of plants and initiated 30 days after plants were tranferred to pots. Soil moisture levels were monitored by gravimetry and control plants were kept closed to the field capacity. Growth and biochemical analysis were done at four, 11 and 18 days after plants were submitted to water deficit and at two, five and nine days after rehydratation of substrate in a group plants upon 18 days of water deficit treatment. Experiments were carried out in a fully randomized block design and the data were analysed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). When F was significant the treatments means were compared by Tukey’s test (p0.05). Each treatment consisted of four replicates and each replicate consisted of one pot containing three plants. Growth parameters (root and shoot dry mass and leaf area), photosynthetic pigments concentration (chlorophyll a, b and total, total carotenoids) and relative water content in leaves, electrolyte likage, total soluble sugars contents, proline levels, hydrogen peroxide and malondialdeyd contents in leaves and roots were quantified. Macroptilium lathyroides and Desmodium incanum growth, characterized by dry mass accumulation in shoot and root system, was affected by water deficit in a similar way as water leaf potential, leaf area and total chlorophyll content. In Vigna luteola plants the relatioship between these parameters was not observed. Compatible solute accumulation such as soluble sugars and proline constitutes an evident metabolic strategy for adaptation to water restriction in the three legume species.