Foliar application of diethyl aminoethyl hexanoate and homobrassinolide enhances cold tolerance in wheat at the jointing stage: physiological mechanisms.

Authors

Yuanxin Shen, Junqin Yue, Ning He, Xiangdong Li, Haifang Pang, Baoting Fang, Hanfang Wang, Haiyang Jin, Deqi Zhang, Hongjian Cheng, Cheng Yang, Fei Zheng, Yunhui Shao

Published in

Frontiers in plant science. Volume 17. Pages 1911607. Epub Jul 27, 2026.

Abstract

In the Huang-Huai region of China, low spring temperatures during the jointing stage frequently cause substantial yield losses in winter wheat, posing a serious threat to wheat production.
To develop a safe and effective exogenous regulation strategy, we investigated the effects of foliar application of a compound formulation containing diethyl aminoethyl hexanoate (DA-6) and 28-homobrassinolide (28-HBL) at different concentrations on two winter wheat cultivars, Bainong207 (BN207) and Zhengmai136 (ZM136), under simulated low-temperature (LT) stress (-3°C for12h) during the jointing stage. Physiological and yield-related parameters, including leaf antioxidant enzyme activities, osmoregulatory substance contents, cell ultrastructure, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, seed-setting rates at different spikelet positions, and yield components, were evaluated to identify the optimal application rate and elucidate the physiological mechanisms underlying enhanced cold tolerance.
The results showed that foliar application of the DA-6/28-HBL compound formulation, particularly at 10mL/667m² (N2), significantly increased the activities of leaf antioxidant enzymes, including super oxide dismutase (SOD)and catalase (CAT). It also promoted the accumulation of soluble sugars, soluble proteins, and proline while reducing malondialdehyde (MDA) content. These physiological responses effectively maintained the integrity of leaf cell ultrastructure and improved photosystemII (PSII) activity. Collectively, these improvements enhanced the cold tolerance of the plants. Compared with the water-spray treatment, the N2 treatment significantly increased the grain number per spike by 13.7% in BN207 and 14.2% in ZM136 (p<0.05), thereby substantially reducing yield loss under LT stress. The greatest increases in seed setting rate and grain dry weight were observed at the upper spikelet positions (G1 and G2). Among the two cultivars, BN207exhibited greater tolerance to LT stress than ZM136.
Overall, foliar application of the DA-6/28-HBL compound formulation effectively alleviated LT-induced damage during the jointing stage, providing a safe and effective exogenous strategy for enhancing cold tolerance in wheat cultivation.

PMID:
42577110
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 11 Aug 2026.

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