Genotype-dependent antioxidative response of four sweet pepper cultivars to water deficiency as affected by drought-tolerant Bacillus safensis SS-2.7 and Bacillus thuringiensis SS-29.2 strains

Abstract

We examined the effect of drought-tolerant Bacillus safensis SS-2.7 and B. thuringiensis SS-29.2 strains on the response of four (133, 274, California Wonder—CalW, and Matica) sweet pepper genotypes to water deficiency conditions. Pepper seeds were sown in pots with (treated) and without (control) bacterial strain inoculation. After four weeks of growth under controlled conditions and regular watering, drought was imposed by completely withholding watering for seven days. Under conditions of normal watering, genotype 274 showed better seedling establishment than genotype 133 and CalW, while the slowest was genotype Matica. Antioxidant enzyme activity under drought conditions was genotype and bacterial treatment-dependent. The best response to bacterial treatment in order to cope with severe drought was found in the CalW genotype, while in genotype 133, we determined even faster plant decay during water deficiency in treated seeds. Inoculated seeds of the Matica genotype did not show different antioxidant enzyme activity under normal and drought conditions. According to the obtained results, we concluded that under drought conditions, the most susceptible was genotype 274, moderate susceptibility was detected in genotype 133, and CalW and Matica were the most tolerant genotypes. Our study demonstrates (1) that drought-tolerant Bacillus strains showed a plant growth-promoting effect on some selected pepper genotypes; (2) that there were genotype-dependent antioxidant enzyme activities under drought conditions in response to treatment with a particular bacterial strain; and (3) that we could expect a genotype-dependent response during biostimulant application, especially under stress conditions.