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eISSN: 2083-5906
ISSN: 1230-1485
ISSN: 1230-1485
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Bio-priming with Brevibacterium frigoritolerans
and Foliar Phytohormones Boost Plant
Growth, Photosynthesis, and Antioxidant
Mechanisms in Barley under Drought Stress
1
Siirt University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Field Crops, Siirt, Türkiye
2
Bitlis Eren University, Vocational School of Health Services, Department of Medical Services and Techniques,
Bitlis, Türkiye
3
Bursa Uludağ University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Field Crops, Bursa, Türkiye
Submission date: 2025-09-16
Final revision date: 2025-10-31
Acceptance date: 2025-11-24
Online publication date: 2026-02-27
Corresponding author
Mustafa Ceritoglu
Siirt University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Field Crops, Siirt, Türkiye
Siirt University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Field Crops, Siirt, Türkiye
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Using plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) or exogenous plant growth promoters, i.e., salicylic
acid (SA) and gibberellic acid (GA), is an effective strategy for stress management in plants. A few
publications have reported that Brevibacterium frigoritolerans has some superior characteristics in the
mitigation of biotic and abiotic stresses in plants. Here we report the action of B. frigoritolerans on plant
growth, photosynthesis, drought stress, and antioxidant defense system in barley with or without SA and
GA treatments. According to the results, the rate of increase was 20.2% at root dry weight, 2.8% at root
length, 8.7% at plant height, 248% at SOD, 309% at APX, 234% at CAT, and 20.8% at TSP in Tarm-92
compared with Zeynel Ağa. Root fresh weight, shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight, plant height, and total
chlorophyll content decreased at 25% FC (field capacity) by 34%, 41%, 54%, 15% and 16%, respectively.
In addition, high drought stress (25% FC) increased SOD, APX, CAT, MDA, and total soluble protein
(TSP) by 140%, 215%, 417%, 198% and 151%, respectively. Control plants exhibited the lowest
enzymatic antioxidants and TSP, while they had the highest MDA concentrations in plants. The highest
SOD (2001 ng mL-1), APX (8.83 ng mL-1), and CAT (29.08 ng mL-1) were determined with PGPB+GA,
PGPB, and GA-treated plants, respectively. On the other hand, the lowest MDA (15.77 ng mL-1)
was observed in PGPB+SA+GA-treated plants. In conclusion, foliar application of 1.5 mM SA or 110 mg L-1
GA with B. frigoritolerans bio-priming had the most mitigating action on drought stress in barley.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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| ISSN: | 1230-1485 |
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