International Congress on Engineering, Sciences and Innovative Technologies (ICESIT 2020) - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia (2020-02-13)

Morpho-physiological and biochemical responses of some Algerian populations of Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb) under water deficit
Plant production in Mediterranean environment becomes more challenged due to the climate change accompanied by severe droughts and decrease in precipitations. One of the possible ways to improve this production is therefore the choice of a plant material which adapts better to periods of lack of water. Perennial forages can be a valuable alternative to annuals, they can survive across successive summer droughts, offer greater optimization of water availability through their more rapid regrowth and their more efficient exploitation of residual moisture in late spring. This study aims to investigate some morpho-physiological and biochemical responses of Algerian populations of Orchardgrass and tall fescue and two Mediterranean cultivars under water limited conditions. The study was carried out in a greenhouse under two water regimes; in the first one, plants were well watered, conducted at a maximum evapotranspiration regime, however in the second one, a severe water deficit diet was applied corresponding to a drying rate of 60% of the useful reserve and plants were irrigated once this threshold was reached. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant differences (p <0.001) between the control and stressed plants for the traits: leaf area, root biomass, relative water content and membrane stability. Water stress considerably reduces these traits, but it allows a large accumulation of soluble sugars and proline contents in all of the studied genotypes, notably the population Bone Faid Bouteldja, Anouche, Ruine de djemila and the cultivar Centurion. For the dry matter and root biomass, the population Ruins de Djemila, El adaeik and Anouche recorded the lowest regression rates, 19.62%, 19.71% and 30.11% respectively, compared to the other genotypes, however the cultivar Medly recorded the highest regression rate (69.62%), which explains its sensitivity to drought. The obtained results showed a great variability between the genotypes in water deficit conditions for all of the parameters tested, which means the possibility of selection a local plant material adapted to the constraining climatic conditions. Keywords: Algerian populations, Perennial grasses, Morpho-physiological responses, Osmolyte accumulation, Water deficit.
Miss Hadjer Benfriha , Miss Khadjdja Akrouchi, Dr. Mohamed Mefti