Interaction between Drought Stress and Antioxidant Application

Oct 13, 2025 by wbrum.org 21 views

Introduction

The world is facing a severe threat to rice production due to global climate changes, resulting in decreased rainfall and drought. This study aims to explore the potential for antioxidant applications in increasing upland tolerance of upland rice to drought. The study was conducted in the Glasshouse of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of North Sumatra, Medan from July to December 2022, using a random block design with two factors.

Background

Changes in environmental factors due to global climate changes, such as decreased rainfall, result in drought. This drought is a serious threat to rice production worldwide, which can result in a decrease in crop yields. The impact of drought on rice production can be seen in various morphophysiological parameters, such as leaf area, root length, root volume, total number of tillers and productive, as well as shoot and root dry weight. In addition, drought stress also reduces relative water content of leaves, chlorophyll A and total content, number of grains per panicle, and a thousand grains of rice, and dry weight per panicle.

Methodology

The study was conducted using a random block design with two factors. The first factor is the level of drought stress, which is measured based on the percentage of water content in the soil with three levels: 80%, 60%, and 40% of the field capacity (FC). The second factor is an antioxidant application, which consists of four levels: without application (0 mm), ascorbic acid 1 mm, 1 mm salicylic acid, and a combination of 0.5 mm ascorbic acid with salicylic acid 0.5 mm.

Results

The results showed that drought stress treatment reduced various morphophysiological parameters of upland rice, such as leaf area, root length, root volume, total number of tillers and productive, as well as shoot and root dry weight. In addition, drought stress also reduces relative water content of leaves, chlorophyll A and total content, number of grains per panicle, and a thousand grains of rice, and dry weight per panicle. The negative impact of this drought stress includes delays in flowering, increased hydrogen peroxide activity, as well as the enzyme SOD and POD, as well as increased proline levels and the percentage of empty grains per clump.

On the other hand, antioxidant treatment is proven to be able to increase some plant parameters, such as leaf area, root length, total and productive puppies, as well as relative water content and chlorophyll content a. Antioxidant application also increases proline levels, which function as an osmotic buffer in plant cells under stress conditions. However, there are several parameters that have decreased, such as root volume, hydrogen peroxide activity, pod enzyme activity, and dry weight per panicle.

Interaction between Drought Stress and Antioxidant Application

The interaction between the stress level of 40% FC drought and the application of antioxidants shows promising results, where there is an increase in plant height, leaf area, root length, total number of tillers and productive, as well as shoots and roots. The content of chlorophyll A and B also increases, accompanied by an increase in the number of grains per panicle and the weight of a thousand grains of rice. However, some parameters such as root volume, flowering time, shoot dry weight and roots, relative water content of leaves, as well as the activity of the enzyme SOD and POD has decreased, which shows that although there is an increase in several aspects, the negative impact of the stress of drought remains unparable.

Conclusion

Through this study, it can be concluded that antioxidant applications can help overcome the negative impacts of drought on upland rice. The selection of appropriate application combinations can contribute to increasing plant resistance to stress conditions, which are very important in dealing with increasingly extreme climate change. This research not only adds knowledge in the fields of morphysiology, anatomy, and biochemistry of Gogo rice, but also opens opportunities for the development of more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural strategies.

Recommendations

Based on the results of this study, the following recommendations can be made:

The use of antioxidant applications can be a potential solution to overcome the negative impacts of drought on upland rice.
The selection of appropriate application combinations can contribute to increasing plant resistance to stress conditions.
Further research is needed to explore the potential of antioxidant applications in increasing upland tolerance of upland rice to drought.
The development of more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural strategies is essential in dealing with increasingly extreme climate change.

Limitations

This study has several limitations, including:

The study was conducted in a controlled environment, which may not reflect the actual conditions in the field.
The study only focused on the effects of drought stress and antioxidant application on upland rice, and did not consider other factors that may affect plant growth and development.
The study only used a limited number of antioxidant applications, and did not explore the potential of other antioxidant applications.

Future Research Directions

Based on the results of this study, the following future research directions can be suggested:

Further research is needed to explore the potential of antioxidant applications in increasing upland tolerance of upland rice to drought.
The development of more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural strategies is essential in dealing with increasingly extreme climate change.
The study of the effects of drought stress and antioxidant application on other crops is also necessary to explore the potential of antioxidant applications in increasing crop tolerance to drought.

Conclusion

Q: What is the main objective of this study?

A: The main objective of this study is to explore the potential for antioxidant applications in increasing upland tolerance of upland rice to drought.

Q: What are the factors that were considered in this study?

A: The two factors that were considered in this study are the level of drought stress and the antioxidant application. The level of drought stress was measured based on the percentage of water content in the soil with three levels: 80%, 60%, and 40% of the field capacity (FC). The antioxidant application consisted of four levels: without application (0 mm), ascorbic acid 1 mm, 1 mm salicylic acid, and a combination of 0.5 mm ascorbic acid with salicylic acid 0.5 mm.

Q: What were the results of the study?

A: The results of the study showed that drought stress treatment reduced various morphophysiological parameters of upland rice, such as leaf area, root length, root volume, total number of tillers and productive, as well as shoot and root dry weight. On the other hand, antioxidant treatment is proven to be able to increase some plant parameters, such as leaf area, root length, total and productive puppies, as well as relative water content and chlorophyll content a.

Q: What is the interaction between drought stress and antioxidant application?

A: The interaction between the stress level of 40% FC drought and the application of antioxidants shows promising results, where there is an increase in plant height, leaf area, root length, total number of tillers and productive, as well as shoots and roots. The content of chlorophyll A and B also increases, accompanied by an increase in the number of grains per panicle and the weight of a thousand grains of rice.

Q: What are the implications of this study?

A: The implications of this study are that antioxidant applications can help overcome the negative impacts of drought on upland rice. The selection of appropriate application combinations can contribute to increasing plant resistance to stress conditions, which are very important in dealing with increasingly extreme climate change.

Q: What are the limitations of this study?

A: The study has several limitations, including the study was conducted in a controlled environment, which may not reflect the actual conditions in the field. The study only focused on the effects of drought stress and antioxidant application on upland rice, and did not consider other factors that may affect plant growth and development. The study only used a limited number of antioxidant applications, and did not explore the potential of other antioxidant applications.

Q: What are the future research directions?

A: The future research directions include further research is needed to explore the potential of antioxidant applications in increasing upland tolerance of upland rice to drought. The development of more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural strategies is essential in dealing with increasingly extreme climate change. The study of the effects of drought stress and antioxidant application on other crops is also necessary to explore the potential of antioxidant applications in increasing crop tolerance to drought.

Q: What are the recommendations of this study?

A: The recommendations of this study include the use of antioxidant applications can be a potential solution to overcome the negative impacts of drought on upland rice. The selection of appropriate application combinations can contribute to increasing plant resistance to stress conditions. Further research is needed to explore the potential of antioxidant applications in increasing upland tolerance of upland rice to drought.

Q: What are the benefits of this study?

A: The benefits of this study include it adds knowledge in the fields of morphysiology, anatomy, and biochemistry of Gogo rice. It opens opportunities for the development of more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural strategies. It provides a potential solution to overcome the negative impacts of drought on upland rice.

Q: What are the potential applications of this study?

A: The potential applications of this study include the development of more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural strategies. The use of antioxidant applications can be a potential solution to overcome the negative impacts of drought on upland rice. The selection of appropriate application combinations can contribute to increasing plant resistance to stress conditions.