文献类型： 外文期刊

作者： Jia, Dan ¹ ; Meng, Ziqing ¹ ; Hu, Shiqiang ¹ ; Nasar, Jamal ² ; Shao, Zeqiang ¹ ; Zhang, Xiuzhi ³ ; Amin, Bakht ² ; Arif, Muhammad ⁴ ; Gitari, Harun ⁵ ;

作者机构： 1.Jilin Inst Chem Technol, Coll Resource & Environm Engn, Jilin 132022, Peoples R China

2.Guizhou Univ, Inst Rice Ind Technol Res, Coll Agr, Guiyang 550025, Peoples R China

3.Jilin Acad Agr Sci, Northeast Agr Res Ctr China, Inst Agr Resources & Environm, Changchun 130033, Peoples R China

4.Guizhou Univ, Coll Agr, Guiyang 550025, Peoples R China

5.Kenyatta Univ, Sch Agr & Environm Sci, Dept Agr Sci & Technol, POB 43844-00100, Nairobi, Kenya

关键词： shade tolerance; abiotic stress; photosynthetic activities; intercropping; enzymes; growth; yield

期刊名称：PLANTS-BASEL （ 影响因子：4.1； 五年影响因子：4.5 ）

ISSN： 2223-7747

年卷期： 2025 年 14 卷 15 期

页码：

收录情况： SCI

摘要： Maize-soybean intercropping is widely practised to improve land use efficiency, but shading from maize often limits soybean growth and productivity. Melatonin, a plant signaling molecule with antioxidant and growth-regulating properties, has shown potential in mitigating various abiotic stresses, including low light. This study investigated the efficacy of applying foliar melatonin (MT) to enhance shade tolerance and yield performance of soybean under intercropping. Four melatonin concentrations (0, 50, 100, and 150 mu M) were applied to soybean grown under mono- and intercropping systems. The results showed that intercropping significantly reduced growth, photosynthetic activity, and yield-related traits. However, the MT application, particularly at 100 mu M (MT100), effectively mitigated these declines. MT100 improved plant height (by up to 32%), leaf area (8%), internode length (up to 41%), grain yield (32%), and biomass dry matter (30%) compared to untreated intercropped plants. It also enhanced SPAD chlorophyll values, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters such as Photosystem II efficiency (phi PSII), maximum PSII quantum yield (Fv/Fm), photochemical quenching (qp), electron transport rate (ETR), Rubisco activity, and soluble protein content. These findings suggest that foliar application of melatonin, especially at 100 mu M, can improve shade resilience in soybean by enhancing physiological and biochemical performance, offering a practical strategy for optimizing productivity in intercropping systems.