Plant Soil Environ., 2025, 71(1):1-11

Drought tolerance screening of plum rootstocks based on physiological and biochemical traitsOriginal Paper

Ines Mihaljević ORCID...1, Marija Viljevac Vuletić ORCID...1, Vesna Tomaš ORCID...1, Dominik Vuković ORCID...1, Zvonimir Zdunić ORCID...1
1 Agricultural Institute Osijek, Osijek, Croatia

Drought-tolerant rootstocks with better performance regarding water deficit is important for sustaining orchard productivity, especially in regions where water availability is unpredictable. By selecting appropriate rootstocks, fruit growers can mitigate the adverse effects of insufficient water on yields. However, the response of specific rootstocks to drought remains unknown. Our study examined the drought tolerance of five plum rootstocks (Wavit, Torinell, Adesoto, Penta, and St. Julien) focusing on their physiological and biochemical responses. To assess their tolerance under drought conditions, we evaluated leaf relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll fluorescence, lipid peroxidation, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), proline, and phenolic content. The results showed that Torinel exhibited the highest performance index (PIABS), maximum PSII photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm), RWC, lowest lipid peroxidation and H2O2 during the drought-stress condition. Based on our results, we identified Torinel as a rootstock with a great ability to withstand drought, suggesting that it could be applied in the breeding program to increase plum resistance to drought. The study provides insights into the drought tolerance of different plum rootstocks, identifying which ones are better suited for cultivation in water-limited environments.

Keywords: climate change; water scarcity; oxidative stress; photosynthesis; Prunus domestica L.

Received: September 20, 2024; Revised: October 29, 2024; Accepted: November 4, 2024; Prepublished online: January 7, 2025; Published: January 8, 2025  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Mihaljević I, Viljevac Vuletić M, Tomaš V, Vuković D, Zdunić Z. Drought tolerance screening of plum rootstocks based on physiological and biochemical traits. Plant Soil Environ. 2025;71(1):1-11.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Anjum S.A., Farooq M., Xie X.Y., Lie X.J., Ijaz M.F. (2012): Antioxidant defense system and proline accumulation enables hot pepper to perform better under drought. Scientia Horticulturae, 140: 66-73. Go to original source...
    2. Badr A., Brüggemann W. (2020): Comparative analysis of drought stress response of maize genotypes using chlorophyll fluorescence measurements and leaf relative water content. Photosynthetica, 58: 638-645. Go to original source...
    3. Birwal P., Deshmukh G., Saurabh S.P., Pragati S. (2017): Plums: a brief introduction. Journal of Food, Nutrition and Population Health, 1: 8.
    4. Biško A., Jelačić T., Miloloža D., Savić Z., Brus K. (2019): The plum industry in the Republic of Croatia. ISHS Acta Horticulturae, 1260: 215-220. Go to original source...
    5. Bista D.R., Heckathorn S.A., Jayawardena D.M., Mishra S., Boldt J.K. (2018): Effects of drought on nutrient uptake and the levels of nutrient-uptake proteins in roots of drought-sensitive and -tolerant grasses. Plants, 7: 28. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    6. Bowman K.D., Albrecht U. (2020): Rootstock influences on health and growth following Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus infection in young sweet orange trees. Agronomy, 10: 1907. Go to original source...
    7. Butac M., Chitu E., Militaru M., Sumedrea M., Sumedrea D., Plopa C. (2015): Orchard performance of some Romanian plum cultivars grafted on two rootstocks. Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia, 6: 118-123. Go to original source...
    8. Cao Y., Luo Q., Tian Y., Meng F. (2017): Physiological and proteomic analyses of the drought stress response in Amygdalus Mira (Koehne) Yü et Lu roots. BMC Plant Biology, 17: 53. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    9. Caruso M., Continella A., Modica G., Pannitteri C., Russo R., Salonia F., Arlotta C., Gentile A., Russo G. (2020): Rootstocks influence yield precocity, productivity, and pre-harvest fruit drop of mandated pigmented mandarin. Agronomy, 10: 1305. Go to original source...
    10. Cicevan R., Al Hassan M., Sestras A.F., Prohens Tomás J., Vicente O., Sestras R., Boscaiu M. (2016): Screening for drought tolerance in cultivars of the ornamental genus Tagetes (Asteraceae). PeerJ, 4: e2133. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    11. Czinege A., Soltész M., Nyéki J., Szabó Z. (2012): The use of rootstocks for European (Prunus domestica) and for Japanese (Prunus salicina) plums (review). International Journal of Horticultural Science, 18: 7-13. Go to original source...
    12. De Ronde J.A., Cress W.A., Krüger G.H.J., Strasser R.J., van Staden J. (2004): Photosynthetic response of transgenic soybean plants, containing an Arabidopsis P5CR gene, during heat and drought stress. Journal of Plant Physiology, 161: 1211-1224. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    13. Delauney A.J., Verma D.P.S. (1993): Proline biosynthesis and osmoregulation in plants. The Plant Journal, 4: 215-223. Go to original source...
    14. Denardi F., Kvitschal M.V., Basso C., Boneti J.I.S., Katsurayama Y. (2016): Performance of new apple rootstocks for Gala variety in Southern Brazil. Crop Breeding and Applied Biotechnology, 16: 147-152. Go to original source...
    15. Dos Santos T.B., Ribas A.F., de Souza S.G.H., Budzinski I.G.F., Domingues D.S. (2022): Physiological responses to drought, salinity, and heat stress in plants: a review. Stresses, 2: 113-135. Go to original source...
    16. Falqueto A.R., da Silva Júnior R.A., Gomes M.T.G., Martins J.P.R., Silva D.M., Partelli F.L. (2017): Effects of drought stress on chlorophyll a fluorescence in two rubber tree clones. Scientia Horticulturae, 224: 238-243. Go to original source...
    17. Gao Y., Liu W., Wang X. (2018): Comparative phytotoxicity of usnic acid, salicylic acid, cinnamic acid and benzoic acid on photosynthetic apparatus of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 128: 1. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    18. Ghaffar A., Hussain N., Ajaj R., Shahin S.M., Bano H., Javed M., Khalid A., Yasmin M., Shah K.H., Zaheer M., Iqbal M., Zafar Z.U., Habib-ur-Rehman A. (2023): Photosynthetic activity and metabolic profiling of bread wheat cultivars contrasting in drought tolerance. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14: 1123080. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    19. Gomes M.T.G., da Luz A.C., dos Santos M.R., do Carmo Pimentel Batitucci M., Silva D.M., Falqueto A.R. (2012): Drought tolerance of passion fruit plants assessed by the OJIP chlorophyll a fluorescence transient. Scientia Horticulturae, 142: 49-56. Go to original source...
    20. Guidi L., Lo Piccolo E., Landi M. (2019): Chlorophyll fluorescence, photoinhibition and abiotic stress: does it make any difference the fact to be a C3 or C4 species? Frontiers in Plant Science, 10: 174. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    21. Jin E.J., Yoon J.H., Lee H., Bae E.J., Yong S.H., Choi M.S. (2023): Evaluation of drought stress level in Sargent's cherry (Prunus sargentii Rehder) using photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and proline content analysis. PeerJ, 11: e15954. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    22. Jin X., Shi C., Yu C.Y., Yamada T., Sacks E.J. (2017): Determination of leaf water content by visible and near-infrared spectrometry and multivariate calibration in Miscanthus. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8: 1-8. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    23. Kar R.K. (2011): Plant responses to water stress: role of reactive oxygen species. Plant Signaling and Behavior, 6: 1741-1745. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    24. Khaleghi A., Naderi R., Brunetti C., Maserti B.E., Salami S.A., Babalar M. (2019): Morphological, physiochemical and antioxidant responses of Maclura pomifera to drought stress. Scientific Reports, 9: 19250. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    25. Khoyerdi F.F., Shamshiri M.H., Estaji A. (2016): Changes in some physiological and osmotic parameters of several pistachio genotypes under drought stress. Scientia Horticulturae, 198: 44-51. Go to original source...
    26. Kumar K., Debnath P., Singh S., Kumar N. (2023): An overview of plant phenolics and their involvement in abiotic stress tolerance. Stresses, 3: 570-585. Go to original source...
    27. Markulj Kulundžić A., Iljkić D., Antunović M., Sudarić A., Varga I. (2023): The relationship between chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters and yield components in sunflower hybrids. Botanica Serbica, 47: 103-111. Go to original source...
    28. Martins R.F.A., Souza A.F.C., Pitol C., Falqueto A.R. (2017): Physiological responses to intense water deficit in two genotypes of crambe (Crambe abyssinica Hochst.). Australian Journal of Crop Science, 11: 821-827. Go to original source...
    29. Martins V., Silva V., Pereira S., Afonso S., Oliveira I., Santos M., Ribeiro C., Vilela A., Bacelar E., Silva A.P. (2021): Rootstock affects the fruit quali-ty of 'Early bigi' sweet cherries. Foods, 10: 2317. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    30. Masheva V., Spasova-Apostolova V., Aziz S., Tomlekova N. (2022): Variations in proline accumulation and relative water content under water stress characterize bean mutant lines (P. vulgaris L.). Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, 28: 430-436.
    31. Meetam M., Sripintusorn N., Songnuan W., Siriwattanakul U., Pichakum A. (2022): Assessment of physiological parameters to determine drought tolerance of plants for extensive green roof architecture in tropical areas. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 56: 126874. Go to original source...
    32. Mihaljević I., Viljevac Vuletić M., Šimić D., Tomaš V., Horvat D., Josipović M., Zdunić Z., Dugalić K., Vuković D. (2021): Comparative study of drought stress effects on traditional and modern apple cultivars. Plants, 10: 561. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    33. Moreno M.A., Tabuenca M.C., Cambra R. (1995): Adesoto 101, a plum rootstock for peaches and other stone fruit. Horticultural Science, 30: 1314-1315. Go to original source...
    34. Nakabayashi R., Mori T., Saito K. (2014): Alternation of flavonoid accumulation under drought stress in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Signaling and Behavior, 9: e29518. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    35. Nečas T., Wolf J., Zezulová E., Ondrášek I. (2023): Evaluation of nursery traits in japanese plums on five different rootstocks. Horticulturae, 9: 318. Go to original source...
    36. Oukarroum A., Madidi S.E., Schansker G., Strasser R.J. (2007): Probing the responses of barley cultivars (Hordeum vulgare L.) by chlorophyll a fluorescence OLKJIP under drought stress and rewatering. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 60: 438-446. Go to original source...
    37. Pandey H.C., Baig M.J., Chandra A., Bhatt R.K. (2010): Drought stress induced changes in lipid peroxidation and antioxidant system in genus Avena. Journal of Environmental Biology, 31: 435-440.
    38. Pavlousek P. (2011): Evaluation of drought tolerance of new grapevine rootstock hybrids. Journal of Environmental Biology, 32: 543-549.
    39. Plich J., Boguszewska-Mańkowska D., Marczewski W. (2020): Relations between photosynthetic parameters and drought-induced tuber yield decrease in Katahdin-derived potato cultivars. Potato Research, 63: 463-477. Go to original source...
    40. Rampino P., Patale S., Gerardi C., Mita G., Perrotta C. (2006): Drought stress responses in wheat: physiological and molecular analysis of resistant and sensitive genotypes. Plant, Cell and Environment, 29: 2143-2152. Go to original source...
    41. Rapacz M., Wójcik-Jagła M., Fiust A., Kalaji H.M., Koscielniak J. (2019): Genome-wide associations of chlorophyll fluorescence OJIP transient parameters connected with soil drought response in barley. Frontiers in Plant Science, 10: 78. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    42. Russo N.L., Robinson T.L., Fazio G., Aldwinckle H.S. (2007): Field evaluation of 64 apple rootstocks for orchard performance and fire blight resistance. HortScience, 42: 1517-1525. Go to original source...
    43. Sanchez-Rodriguez E., Rubio-Wilhelmi M., Cervilla L.M., Blasco B., Rios J.J., Rosales M.A., Romero L., Ruiz J.M. (2010): Genotypic differences in some physiological parameters symptomatic for oxidative stress under moderate drought in tomato plants. Plant Science, 178: 30-40. Go to original source...
    44. Sarker U., Oba S. (2018): Drought stress effects on growth, ROS markers, compatible solutes, phenolics, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity in Amaranthus tricolor. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 186: 999-1016. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    45. Seleiman M.F., Al-Suhaibani N., Ali N., Akmal M., Alotaibi M., Refay Y., Dindaroglu T., Abdul-Wajid H.H., Battaglia M.L. (2021): Drought stress impacts on plants and different approaches to alleviate its adverse effects. Plants, 10: 259. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    46. Siddiqui Z.S., Shahid H., Cho J.I., Park S.H., Ryu T.H., Park S.C. (2016): Physiological responses of two halophytic grass species under drought stress environment. Acta Botanica Croatica, 75: 31-38. Go to original source...
    47. Singleton V.L., Rossi J.A. (1965): Colorimetry of total phenolics with phosphomolybdic-phosphotungstic acid reagents. American Journal of Enol-ogy and Viticulture, 16: 144-158. Go to original source...
    48. Solonkin A., Nikolskaya O., Seminchenko E. (2022): The effect of low-growing rootstocks on the adaptability and productivity of sour cherry varieties (Prunus cerasus L.) in arid conditions. Horticulturae, 8: 400. Go to original source...
    49. Soltys-Kalina D., Plich J., Strzelczyk-Żyta D., Śliwka J., Marczewski W. (2016): The effect of drought stress on the leaf relative water content and tuber yield of a half-sib family of 'Katahdin'-derived potato cultivars. Breeding Science, 66: 328-331. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    50. Sousaraei N., Mashayekhi K., Mousavizadeh S.J., Akbarpour V., Medina J., Aliniaeifard S. (2021): Screening of tomato landraces for drought tolerance based on growth and chlorophyll fluorescence analyses. Horticulture, Environment and Biotechnology, 62: 521-535. Go to original source...
    51. Stefanova B., Dragoyski K., Dinkova H. (2009): Reaction of some rootstocks for plums to soil and climatic conditions of Troyan. Acta Horticul-turae, 825: 435-440. Go to original source...
    52. Strasser R.J., Srivastava A., Tsimilli-Michael M. (2000): The fluorescence transient as a tool to characterize and screen photosynthetic samples. In: Yunus M., Pathre U., Mohanty P. (eds.): Probing Photosynthesis Mechanism, Regulation and Adaptation. London, CRC Press, 445-483. ISBN 9780748408214
    53. Strasser R.J., Stirbet A.D. (1998): Heterogeneity of photosystem II probed by the numerically simulated chlorophyll a fluorescence rise (O-J-I-P). Mathematics and Computers in Simulation, 48: 3-9. Go to original source...
    54. Strasser R.J., Tsimilli-Michael M., Srivastava A. (2004): Analysis of the chlorophyll a fluorescence transient. In: Papageorgiou G.C., Govindjee (eds.): Chlorophyll a Fluorescence: A Signature of Photosynthesis. Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration. Dordrecht, Springer, 321-362. ISBN: 978-1-4020-3217-2 Go to original source...
    55. Türkan I., Bor M., Ozdemir F., Koca H. (2005): Differential responses of lipid peroxidation and antioxidants in the leaves of drought-tolerant P. acutifolius Gray and drought-sensitive P. vulgaris L. subjected to polyethylene glycol mediated water stress. Plant Biology, 168: 223-231. Go to original source...
    56. Varela M.C., Arslan I., Reginato M.A., Cenzano A.M., Luna M.V. (2016): Phenolic compounds as indicators of drought resistance in shrubs from Patagonian shrublands (Argentina). Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 104: 81-91. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    57. Velikova V., Yordanov I., Edreva A. (2000): Oxidative stress and some antioxidant systems in acid rain-treated bean plants: protective role of exogenous polyamines. Plant Science, 151: 59-66. Go to original source...
    58. Verma S., Dubey R.S. (2003:): Lead toxicity induces lipid peroxidation and alters the activities of antioxidant enzymes in growing rice plants. Plant Science, 164: 645-655. Go to original source...
    59. Viljevac M., Dugalić K., Mihaljević I., Šimić D., Sudar R., Jurković Z., Lepeduš H. (2013): Chlorophyll content, photosynthetic efficiency and genetic markers in two sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) genotypes under drought stress. Acta Botanica Croatica, 72: 221-235. Go to original source...
    60. Walkowiak-Tomczak D. (2008): Characteristics of plums as a raw material with valuable nutritive and dietary properties - a review. Polish Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences, 58: 401-405.
    61. Wang Z., Li G., Sun H., Ma L., Guo Y., Zhao Z., Gao H., Mei L. (2018): Effects of drought stress on photosynthesis and photosynthetic electron transport chain in young apple tree leaves. Biology Open, 7: bio035279. Go to original source...
    62. Woodrow P., Ciarmiello L.F., Annunziata M.G., Pacifico S., Iannuzzi F., Mirto A., D'Amelia L., Dell'Aversana E., Piccolella S., Fuggi A., Carillo P. (2017): Durum wheat seedling responses to simultaneous high light and salinity involve a fine reconfiguration of amino acids and carbohydrate metabolism. Physiologia Plantarum, 159: 290-312. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    63. Yusuf M.A., Kumar D., Rajwanshi R., Strasser R.J., Tsimilli-Michael M., Govindjee Sarin N.B. (2010): Overexpression of γ-tocopherol methyl transferase gene in transgenic Brassica juncea plants alleviates abiotic stress: physiological and chlorophyll a fluorescence measurements. Bio-chimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics, 1797: 1428-1438. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    64. Zezulová E., Ondrášek I., Kiss T., Nečas T. (2022): Qualitative and nutritional characteristics of plum cultivars grown on different rootstocks. Horticulturae, 8: 1123. Go to original source...
    65. Zheng H.F., Xin L.F., Guo J.M., Mao J., Han X.P., Jia L., Zheng B.Y., Du C.G., Elmore Roger W., Yang Q.H., Shao R.X. (2019): Adaptation of photosynthesis to water deficit in the reproductive phase of a maize (Zea mays L.) inbred line. Photosynthetica, 57: 399-408. Go to original source...
    66. Zhou R., Kan X., Chen J., Hua H., Li Y., Ren J., Feng K., Liu H., Deng D., Yin Z. (2019): Drought-induced changes in photosynthetic electron transport in maize probed by prompt fluorescence, delayed fluorescence, P700 and cyclic electron flow signals. Environmental and Experi-mental Botany, 158: 51-62. Go to original source...
    67. Zhuang J., Wang Y., Chi Y., Zhou L., Chen J., Zhou W., Song J., Zhao N., Ding J. (2020): Drought stress strengthens the link between chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and photosynthetic traits. PeerJ, 8: e10046. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content