Waterlogging effects upon the phenological phases of common bean cultivar BRSMG-Uai

Abstract

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important source of protein and carbohydrates, besides being rich in several mineral nutrients. In a flooding situation, the low availability of oxygen may result in hypoxia or anoxia condition. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the responses of the common bean cultivar BRSMG-Uai subjected to hypoxia in different phenological phases, analyzing its responses in terms of growth, productivity, carbon and nitrogen metabolism. Thus, seeds of common beans were germinated and when the seedling reached growth stage V1, they were transferred to plastic boxes containing 40L of nutritive solution with steady aeration. Distinct series of plants were exposed to air-restriction on their roots for nine days, in three different phenological phases V3/V4, R6 and R7. Samples were collected for biochemical and growth analyses in a completely random design (n=6). The plants subjected to low availability of oxygen presented a reduction in bean number, displaying the greatest loss in productivity in V3/V4, conferring the highest sensitivity to hypoxia in this phase. On the other hand, there was an increase in sugar concentration in leaves, and it was also possible to observe an increase in hydrogen peroxide in leaves and roots, concomitant with a decrease in superoxide dismutase activity in all phenological phases. There was also an increase in ascorbate peroxidase activity in roots in R6, as well as in nitrate reductase activity. We conclude that the cultivar BRSMG-Uai presents sensitivity to low oxygen availability, and the phenological phaseV3/V4 is the most critical for it.