Biochemical changes in black oat plants in response to water deficit under different temperatures

The black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.) stands out as a forage of great importance in Brazilian agriculture. However, the productivity and quality of this forage can be affected by abiotic factors, such as temperature and water availability, which affect the physiological processes and facilitate the accumulation of free radicals (reactive oxygen species - ROS). Thus, the objective of this study was to understand the biochemical changes in black oat plants subjected to water deficit at different temperatures. Experiments were conducted in a greenhouse in two experimental periods, which presented an average temperature of 20 °C and 24 °C, respectively. Black oat seeds, of the variety IAPAR 61, were sown in pots and the plants were irrigated for 60 days. After which, the pots were covered with plastic bags and the irrigation was suspended. The analyses were carried out in five periods of evaluation - M1: plants before the suspension of irrigation, M2: plants at the first wilting point, M3: three days after plastic removal and irrigation return, M4: four days after M3 and before the second suspension of irrigation, and M5: the second wilting point. The levels of total protein and malondialdehyde (MDA), and the activity of the enzymes catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), were analyzed. The experimental design was completely randomized, with six replications, in a factorial scheme of average temperature × water management × periods of evaluation, and the means were compared by Tukey’s test at 5%. In response to water deficiency and temperature increase, black oat plants increased their levels of total soluble proteins, and there was greater lipid peroxidation due to the increase in malondialdehyde content. There was no change in the activity of the enzymes catalase and ascorbate peroxidase under water deficit, and these activities decreased with increasing temperature.