10.57647/jcns.2025.1101.02

Antioxidant Responses and Germination Indices of Five Tropical Alfalfa Varieties under Drought Stress (Different Concentration of Polyethylene Glycol)

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  • Mahmood Moradi Chegeni1,
  • Mahmood Tohidi1,
  • Ahmad Ali Shoushi Dezfuli*2,
  • Mehdi Sadeghi1,
  • Farbod Fotouhi1,
  • Ali Assareh3,
  1. Department of Agronomy, Dezful Branch, Islamic Azad University, Dezful, Iran
  2. Seed and plant improvement Institute Department, Safi Abad Agricultural and natural Resource Research Center, AREEO. Dezful, Iran
  3. Department of Water Engineering and Science, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran

Received: 2024-12-23

Revised: 2025-01-25

Accepted: 2025-02-27

Published in Issue 2026-02-22

Copyright (c) 2026 Mahmood Moradi Chegeni, Mahmood Tohidi, Ahmad Ali Shoushi Dezfuli, Mehdi Sadeghi, Farbod Fotouhi, Ali Assareh (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Moradi Chegeni, M., Tohidi, M., Shoushi Dezfuli, A. A., Sadeghi, M., Fotouhi, F., & Assareh, A. (2026). Antioxidant Responses and Germination Indices of Five Tropical Alfalfa Varieties under Drought Stress (Different Concentration of Polyethylene Glycol). Journal of Crop Nutrition Science, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.57647/jcns.2025.1101.02
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Abiotic stresses are considered factors that decrease the crop yield and can lead to a significant decrease in the production of main agricultural products on average.

OBJECTIVES: One of the main approaches to obtaining drought tolerance data involves selecting relevant statistics based on the biochemical traits and germination indices.

METHODS: Current research was carried out according factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replications, on five tropical Alfalfa varieties during germination phase with two factors in September 2017. The first factor was drought stress, applied using various concentrations of polyethylene glycol (PEG) with four osmotic potential levels of 0, -2, -4, and -6 bars. The second factor was variety, which included five Alfalfa cultivars; Baghdadi, Nikshahri, Yazdi, Omid (synthetic Alfalfa), and Mesasirsa.

RESULT: Levels of drought stress had a significant effect (at the 1% level) on mean time to germination (MTG), coefficient of velocity of germination (CVG), mean daily germination (MDG), and final germination percentage. The effect of genotype was significant (at the 1% level) for all traits and germination indices, except MTG and CVG. The interaction effect of drought stress and variety was significantly different (at the 1% level) for the amount of malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase activities (GPX) activity. A mean comparison of indices and antioxidant activities showed that Baghdadi and Yazdi varieties, owing to their high final germination percentage (63.75% and 59.67 %, respectively) and higher antioxidant activity, were classified into a more favourable statistical group (group A).

CONCLUSION: This study on Alfalfa varieties found that Baghdadi, Nikshahri, and Yazdi perform well under water stress, showing high germination rates and adaptability to irregular rainfall. Notably, the Yazdi variety is particularly suitable for breeding programs aimed at enhancing drought tolerance in Alfalfa. 

Keywords

  • Antioxidant activities, Medicago sativa L., Osmotic potential, Water deficit stress.
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