Table 2.
Effect of drought stress and PGPR application on leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content and number of leaves per plant in two potato cultivars.
| Cultivars | PGPR Treatments | Drought treatments | Leaf area/plant (cm2) | Specific leaf area (cm2/g) | Leaf dry matter content (mg/g) | Number of leaves/plant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santae | With PGPR | CK | 42.3 ± 2 a | 245.1 ± 8 a | 300.3 ± 14 d | 20.3 ± 1.4 a |
| MS | 36.5 ± 1 c | 200.5 ± 6 c | 317.5 ± 15 b | 17.5 ± 1.5 b | ||
| SS | 13.3 ± 3 e | 130.3 ± 7 e | 332.7 ± 13 a | 12.7 ± .3 c | ||
| Without PGPR | CK | 37.6 ± 1.2 b | 205.3 ± 9 b | 307.3 ± 10 c | 17.3 ± 5 b | |
| MS | 30.6 ± 1.5 d | 150.3 ± 11 d | 316.3 ± 12 b | 16.3 ± 2 c | ||
| SS | 7.3 ± 0.5 f. | 100.7 ± 6 f. | 330.3 ± 12 a | 10.3 ± 2 d | ||
| PRI-Red | With PGPR | CK | 45.4 ± 1 a | 242.3 ± 10 b | 317.4 ± 12 f. | 17.4 ± 1.2 a |
| MS | 32.5 ± 2 b | 180.3 ± 8 c | 336.3 ± 12 c | 16.3 ± 2 b | ||
| SS | 11.5 ± 0.5 d | 119 ± 5 e | 351.2 ± 15 b | 11.2 ± 1.5 c | ||
| Without PGPR | CK | 44.5 ± 1 a | 250.3 ± 3 a | 327.2 ± 13 d | 17.2 ± 1 a | |
| MS | 23.6 ± 0.6 c | 152.4 ± 7 d | 339.1 ± 12 c | 16.1 ± 1 b | ||
| SS | 9.4 ± 0.5 e | 100.6 ± 5 f | 360 ± 8 a | 10 ± 2 c |
Plants of both genotypes were treated with 100 g of bio-fertilizer at 10 days after germination and exposed to different soil relative water contents (SRWC), including 80 ± 5% (well watered; CK), 60 ± 5% (moderate stress; MS) and 40 ± 5% SRWC (severe stress; SS) for 7 days at tuber initiation stage (30 days after germination). Lowercase letter after each data in the column indicates significant difference at P < 0.05 between the treatments for each cultivar separately.