Effects of Different Potassium Doses on Growth and Development of Drought-Sensitive Bean Plants

Abstract

Root, stem and leaf development are all negatively influenced by drought stress which causes losses in yield and quality and ultimately serious economic losses for growers. This study was conducted to see the efficiency of potassium treatments in reducing the negative effects drought stress on yield and quality of beans largely consumed in Turkey. Zulbiye bean cultivar sensitive to drought stress and V71 bean genotype which was also previously identified as sensitive to drought stress were used as the plant materials of the experiments. Bean seeds were sown in 2 L pots filled with perlite. Different potassium (K) doses of 0 (control) ppm K, 500 ppm K, 100 ppm K and 2000 ppm K were applied to seed sown pots. Seeding was performed as to have two plants in each pot and experiments were conducted in randomized blocks factorial experimental design with 4 replications with 4 pots in each replication. Pots were irrigated with Hoagland nutrient solution throughout the experiments. Irrigations were totally terminated on 20th day for drought stress plants. Following 15 days of stress conditions, plant height, fresh weight, root collar diameter, number of leaves and leaf size, leaf relative contents and membrane damage index values were determined. It was concluded based on present findings that 2000 ppm K treatment was more efficient in reducing the negative effects of drought stress on investigated growth and development parameters.