Increase of resistance to drought and other adverse environmental factors

Drought is one of the main problems the modern agriculture facing with. It is calculated that drought and desertification lead to world annual agricultural losses of 42 billions dollars. Past 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 years were drought for all agricultural regions of Russia or for part of them. Total losses due to drought and other natural disasters only in 2000 in Russia made up 20 billions roubles (800 millions USD). According to scientists’ predictions, global warming will lead not only to temperature growth, but also to increasing of temperature fluctuations and increase of number of extremely cold and hot (drought) summers.

One of the most effective ways of protecting crops from drought is increasing their natural drought resistance. Besides selection of new drought-resistant varieties, use of chemical drought resistance promoters might be also very perspective. Such formulations just recently have become available on market, and they are object of development in leading chemical companies. Nowadays, Albit is the only pesticide which is officially recommended in Russia for increase of drought resistance of foeld crops (List of Pesticides and Agrochemicals Allowed to Application in Russia, 2006). Averagely, Albit increases drought resistance of plants by 10-60%.

Albit influence on drought resistance of plants was examined in details in pot experiments with spring wheat performed in Institute of Plant Physiology RAS. Drought is a complex phenomenon, which includes moisture deficiency and increased temperature of environment. Ability of plants to resist high temperatures was examined according to heat resistance index; drought resistance was examined according to moisture retention ability, water content in leaves and transpiration intensity). Application of Albit reliably increased all listed characteristics, except transpiration intensity. Results of trials are summarized in Table 16.

Treatment with Albit increased ability of plants to resist increase of temperature in drought conditions. So, application of Albit increased heat resistance of wheat under conditions of drought and watering up to 134-160% (100% - untreated control) and 107-153% respectively. With the lapse of time hot resistance of Albit treated plants increased even more.

Treatment with Albit also lead to more economical water consumption of plants: intensity of transpiration of Albit-treated plants decreased more than twice, from 453 to 203 mg of water/g of biomass in one hour under drought conditions. As it was experimentally established, increased drought resistance of plants remains high for several months after treatment with Albit.

As it was found in trials, ability of Albit to provide high yields under drought c onditions depends on both activation of plant’s biochemical mechanisms of drought resistance (hot resistance, water retention ability) and improvement of rootage.

Ability of Albit to increase drought resistance of plants was practically confirmed on different agricultures (cereals, sugar beet, sunflower, vegetables). Due to this property, Albit provides considerable yield increase even under conditions of drought and high temperature, when effect of other chemical and biological compounds becomes negligible. It was demonstrated in tests of Kurgan Institute of Grain Growing (1998), All-Russia Institute Agrochemistry (1997-1998), Tuva regional plant protection station and others, carried out in different regions of Russia where drought is common thing (forest-steppe zone of Siberia) and in other regions in drought years. In dry 2003, farmers of Krasnodar kray due to using of Albit managed to get the same yield as in normal 2002 (50-70 centners/hectare).

According to data of Kurgan Institute of Grain Growing, even in extremely drought summer of 1998, Albit treatment provided spring wheat yield increase of 2.3 centners/hectare (19.8%), whereas treatment with chemical seed treatment agent based on a.i. tiabendazole and flutriafol did not give any effect. Analogously in trials of Kurgan regional plant protection station (2000) in farm Lebyazhevskoe, the biological effectiveness of Albit against root rots of wheat was 83% and yield increase was 2 centners/hectare (16.7%) despite extremely adverse conditions (slow and cold spring, hot and drought first half of summer).

Joint trial of Buryatia Regional Plant Protection Station and Buryatia Institute of Agriculture (2003) on spring wheat var. Selenga was performed almost in the same conditions (slow spring with returning cold, drought, etc.). In result of trial, biological efficiency of Albit (30 ml/tonne of seeds) against root rots was 65% and yield increased by 15.6% (i.e. 1 centner/hectare; yield in control – 6.4 centners/hectare)

In trials of Penza regional plant protection station on spring wheat and barley (1998), there were no precipitations for two months - from sowing till EC stage 71-72 while the temperature was 30-32 °C. But anyway, Albit-treated plants (comparing to control set) had more intensive coloration, higher stem density and no cases of ear emptiness.

Under drought conditions of Stavropol kray farmers (farms Bryzgalin, Uvarov, Khizhnyak) have been harvesting stably 5-8 centners/hectare increased yield due to application of Albit.

Due to induction of drought resistance, relative effectiveness of Albit (% of yield increase) under drought conditions generally even higher than in normal ones. For example, here are data of several trials:

• Trials of All-Russia Institute of Vegetable Selection and Seed Breeding were performed in 2001 and 2003. 2001 was drought in Moscow region, but in this year the average yield increase over control (for vegetables) was 4-30% higher than in normal 2003;
• In trial of Institute of Plant Physiology of RAS (2000), Albit treatment accompanied with watering provided yield increase of 13-17% over control, whereas yield increase without watering was 50-195% over control;
• In field trials of All-Russia Institute of Leguminous and Groat Crops, presowing treatment of seeds of pea var. Orlus, Truzhenik and Vega provided additional yield of 9.4-14.7% in dry 2002 whereas in noirmal 2001 it was 9.3-7.9%;
• In trials of All-Russia Institute of Agrochemistry and Ryazan Regional Plant Protection Station, Albit presowing treatment of spring wheat provided the average yield increase of 23.8% in dry 1998, and only 13.6% in normal 1997.

In further trials in different regions of Russia, it was established that besides drought and high temperature resistance, Albit also improves resistance to other stresses (temperature changes, light frosts, overmoistening, chemical stresses caused by pesticides, etc.). Thus, increase of drought resistance is a particular case of antistress activity of Albit . In medical terms, stress is the disruption of homeostasis through physical or psychological stimuli. Under influence of different adverse factors, organism responds with similar biochemical changes directed to overcoming of these factors through appropriate adaptation. The term 'stress' in this context was coined by Austro-Canadian endocrinologist Hans Selye in 1936 with regard to humans and animals, but now it is being used more widely with regard to animals, plants, microorganisms and ecosystems. Factors inflicted stress were called ‘stressors’. Albit helps plants to adapt to adverse environmental conditions, therefore it may be called adaptogen or antistressor.

Albit is effective for overcoming of:

• Increased temperature and drought (see in details above);
• Decreased temperatures, dramatic temperature fluctuations. Albit increases resistance to light frosts, improves winter overcoming of winter cereals;
• Chemical stress caused by treatments of plants with fungicides and seed treatment agents;
• Suppression of growth of main culture due to treatments with herbicides, especially at their overdose;
• Suppression of plants due to application of insecticides and extraroot fertilizers;
• Pollution of soil with xenobiotics, e.g. oil.

Especially pronounced antistress activity of Albit can be seen at foliar spraying of winter cereals in EC stages 20-29 (tillering). Plants weakened by winter, herbicides and root rots respond to Albit with dramatic yield increase (up to 10 centners/hectare under field conditions).

One important fact testifying to adaptogenic activity of Albit with regard to wide spectrum of stressing factors is high reproducibility of its action under different conditions. Antistress activity is one of the most important properties of the formulation, therefore Albit may be considered not only a plant growth regulator and biofungicide, but also antistressor.

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