The Effect of Epibrassinolide Application on Photosynthetic Material Allocation, Drought Tolerance, and Seed Yield of two Pinto Bean Genotypes (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

Introduction Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a food crop with high protein, fiber, and minerals. One of the important issues in the formation of seed yield is how photosynthetic materials are allocated in plants. This may be especially important when the plant is experiencing drought stress. Brassinosteroids are a group of steroid hormones that have been implicated in a wide range of physiological processes. Brassinosteroids increase crop yield by altering plant metabolism and protecting plants from environmental stresses. Considering that one of the major problems of agriculture is water shortage, the present study was assessed aimed to investigate the effect of Epibrassinolide application on the allocation of photosynthetic materials and some traits related to drought resistance in two common bean genotypes under optimal irrigation and drought stress conditions and the possibility of increasing common bean seed yield by using this hormone. Materials and Methods In order to investigate the effect of Epibrassinolide application on photosynthetic material allocation and the possibility of increasing common bean seed yield by application of this hormone, an experiment was conducted in split factorial based on randomized complete block design at the research farm of the University of Zanjan during 2016-2017. In this experiment, optimal irrigation and drought stress were applied to main plots and common bean genotypes (at two levels of Kusha cultivar and COS16 genotype) and different concentrations of Epibrassinolide (at four levels of no application or control, 2, 4, and 6 μM) were allocated to sub plots as factorial. In the flowering stage, drought stress was applied and simultaneously with drought stress, common bean plants, were sprayed with Epibrassinolide. In this study, relative water content, proline content, and malondialdehyde content were studied at the peak of the drought stress. Also, dry weights of leaf, stem, and pod and the ratio of leaf, stem, and pod dry weights to total plant weight were studied at two times (peak of the drought stress and one week after re-irrigation). Results and Discussion The results showed that drought stress decreased dry weights of leaf, stem, pod, and seed yield compared to the optimal irrigation. Common bean plant under drought stress allocated less photosynthetic materials to leaves and stems and more photosynthetic materials to pods. The Kusha cultivar under optimal irrigation had the highest seed yield (with an average of 3025.45 kg ha-1) and the COS16 genotype under drought stress had the lowest one (with an average of 980.89 kg ha-1). The Kusha cultivar in optimal irrigation condition was the superior genotype due to its high seed yield, but drought stress had a more negative effect on the Kusha cultivar. Also, application of different concentrations of Epibrassinolide increased dry weights of leaf, stem, pod, and seed yield compared to the control. The highest seed yield was obtained by application of 2 μM Epibrassinolide (with an average of 2068.2 kg ha-1). So that, application of this concentration increased the seed yield by 46.07% compared to the control. Epibrassinolide application also increased the drought stress tolerance by decreasing the amount of malondialdehyde and increasing the relative leaf water content and proline content. Conclusions Therefore, application of Epibrassinolide can be suggested as a solution to increase common bean seed yield and increase drought tolerance of this plant. In addition, obtaining comprehensive information on the positive effects of Epibrassinolide requires the study of this hormone in different climatic conditions.