Humic and fulvic acid influence the morphophysiological and biochemical properties of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) under water deficit
Angela Lucena Nascimento de Jesus
A * , Lucas Vinícius Pierre de Andrada A , Luiz Filipe dos Santos Silva A , Natália Alves Santos A , Fabiana Barbosa Cruz A , Nerissa Carolina Amosse Cumbana A , Rafael Anchieta de Oliveira A and Evaristo Jorge Oliveira de Souza A
A
Abstract
Water deficit is a limiting factor in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) performance. Humic and fulvic acids are organic fertilisers that increase plant productivity and appear as a viable alternative to improve cowpea productivity under water deficit.
We evaluated the efficiency of humic and fulvic acid on the morphophysiological and biochemical properties of cowpea subjected to water deficit.
The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse. A completely randomised design was adopted in a 5 × 2 factorial scheme with four replications, with five doses of humic and fulvic acid, 0, 4, 8, 12 and 16 mL/L applied to plants irrigated at 100% and 25% of field capacity. Stomatal conductance (gs), water potential (Pw), plant height (H), stem diameter (SD), number of leaves (NL), number of root nodules (NR), fresh and dry weight of the aerial (FMA and DMA) and root (FMR and DMR), total soluble proteins (SP) and total phenolic compounds (PC).
Doses of 8 and 12 mL/L increased gs (100–200 mmol m2 s−1), reduced Pw (−0.9 MPa) and NR, increased FMR and DMR (20 and 10 g), SP (8–9 g) in stressed and non-stressed individuals.
Intermediate doses of humic and fulvic acid (12 mL/L) are recommended for cowpea production in dry regions.
Humic and fulvic acid together are viable alternatives for optimising agricultural production and decision making in semi-arid regions.
Keywords: abiotic stress, agricultural crop, annual culture, biostimulants, fertilisers, physiology, semi-arid, sustainability.
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