Abstract
Introduction Drought stress severely constrains global crop production, limiting growth, yield, and fruit quality. This study evaluated the efficacy of foliar-applied melatonin (MT) in enhancing drought tolerance in tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) by modulating physiological and biochemical responses. Methods A two-season field experiment employed a split-plot design with three replications, testing two irrigation regimes [full irrigation (FI; 100% crop evapotranspiration, ETc) and deficit irrigation (DI; 60% ETc)], combined with five foliar MT concentrations (0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 µM) applied as foliar sprays. Results DI alone significantly ( P ≤ 0.05) reduced plant height (26.9%), total yield (44.0%), soil plant analysis development (SPAD) chlorophyll value (41.7%), and relative water content (RWC; 28.6%) compared to well-watered controls. Exogenous MT at 100 µM significantly ( P ≤ 0.05) alleviated these effects under DI, increasing plant height by 32.9%, total yield by 51.8%, SPAD value by 51.1%, and RWC by 31.0% relative to untreated stressed plants. MT application enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and preserved leaf integrity, reflected in reduced electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content. These improvements stemmed from effective reactive oxygen species (H 2 O 2 and O 2 •– ) detoxification, accompanied by a significant ( P ≤ 0.05) upregulation of enzymatic antioxidants [superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), and glutathione reductase (GR)] and accumulation of non-enzymatic osmoprotectants including proline, ascorbate, α-tocopherol, glutathione, and total soluble sugars. The FI + 100 μM MT treatment yielded the highest fruit production (5.31 kg plant -1 ). Discussion These findings establish foliar MT application at 100 μM as an effective biostimulant strategy for sustaining tomato productivity under water-limited conditions, operating through coordinated key physiological and biochemical defense mechanisms. This approach offers a practical pathway toward more resilient crop production in water-scarce environments.
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Claims 18
Claim · model-written summary
Deficit irrigation reduced tomato plant height by 26.9% relative to well-watered controls.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicumt0 - Treatment
- DIe0
- Outcome
- plant heighte0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 26.9%e0
- Comparator
- well-watered controlse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“DI alone significantly ( P ≤ 0.05) reduced plant height (26.9%), total yield (44.0%), soil plant analysis development (SPAD) chlorophyll value (41.7%), and relative water content (RWC; 28.6%) compared to well-watered controls”
t0“Harnessing foliar-applied melatonin to improve yield and stress tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under deficit irrigation”
Claim · model-written summary
Deficit irrigation reduced tomato total yield by 44.0% relative to well-watered controls.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- DIe0
- Outcome
- total yielde0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 44.0%e0
- Comparator
- well-watered controlse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“DI alone significantly ( P ≤ 0.05) reduced plant height (26.9%), total yield (44.0%), soil plant analysis development (SPAD) chlorophyll value (41.7%), and relative water content (RWC; 28.6%) compared to well-watered controls”
t0“Harnessing foliar-applied melatonin to improve yield and stress tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under deficit irrigation”
Claim · model-written summary
Deficit irrigation reduced tomato SPAD chlorophyll value by 41.7% relative to well-watered controls.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- DIe0
- Outcome
- soil plant analysis development (SPAD) chlorophyll valuee0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 41.7%e0
- Comparator
- well-watered controlse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“DI alone significantly ( P ≤ 0.05) reduced plant height (26.9%), total yield (44.0%), soil plant analysis development (SPAD) chlorophyll value (41.7%), and relative water content (RWC; 28.6%) compared to well-watered controls”
t0“Harnessing foliar-applied melatonin to improve yield and stress tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under deficit irrigation”
Claim · model-written summary
Deficit irrigation reduced tomato relative water content by 28.6% relative to well-watered controls.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- DIe0
- Outcome
- relative water contente0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 28.6%e0
- Comparator
- well-watered controlse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“DI alone significantly ( P ≤ 0.05) reduced plant height (26.9%), total yield (44.0%), soil plant analysis development (SPAD) chlorophyll value (41.7%), and relative water content (RWC; 28.6%) compared to well-watered controls”
t0“Harnessing foliar-applied melatonin to improve yield and stress tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under deficit irrigation”
Claim · model-written summary
Under deficit irrigation, 100 µM melatonin increased tomato plant height by 32.9% over untreated stressed plants.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- Exogenous MT at 100 µMe0
- Outcome
- plant heighte0
- Direction
- increasinge0
- Value
- 32.9%e0
- Qualifier
- under DIe0
- Comparator
- untreated stressed plantse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Exogenous MT at 100 µM significantly ( P ≤ 0.05) alleviated these effects under DI, increasing plant height by 32.9%, total yield by 51.8%, SPAD value by 51.1%, and RWC by 31.0% relative to untreated stressed plants”
t0“Harnessing foliar-applied melatonin to improve yield and stress tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under deficit irrigation”
Claim · model-written summary
Under deficit irrigation, 100 µM melatonin increased tomato total yield by 51.8% over untreated stressed plants.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- Exogenous MT at 100 µMe0
- Outcome
- total yielde0
- Direction
- increasinge0
- Value
- 51.8%e0
- Qualifier
- under DIe0
- Comparator
- untreated stressed plantse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Exogenous MT at 100 µM significantly ( P ≤ 0.05) alleviated these effects under DI, increasing plant height by 32.9%, total yield by 51.8%, SPAD value by 51.1%, and RWC by 31.0% relative to untreated stressed plants”
t0“Harnessing foliar-applied melatonin to improve yield and stress tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under deficit irrigation”
Claim · model-written summary
Under deficit irrigation, 100 µM melatonin increased tomato SPAD value by 51.1% over untreated stressed plants.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- Exogenous MT at 100 µMe0
- Outcome
- SPAD valuee0
- Direction
- increasinge0
- Value
- 51.1%e0
- Qualifier
- under DIe0
- Comparator
- untreated stressed plantse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Exogenous MT at 100 µM significantly ( P ≤ 0.05) alleviated these effects under DI, increasing plant height by 32.9%, total yield by 51.8%, SPAD value by 51.1%, and RWC by 31.0% relative to untreated stressed plants”
t0“Harnessing foliar-applied melatonin to improve yield and stress tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under deficit irrigation”
Claim · model-written summary
Under deficit irrigation, 100 µM melatonin increased tomato RWC by 31.0% over untreated stressed plants.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- Exogenous MT at 100 µMe0
- Outcome
- RWCe0
- Direction
- increasinge0
- Value
- 31.0%e0
- Qualifier
- under DIe0
- Comparator
- untreated stressed plantse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Exogenous MT at 100 µM significantly ( P ≤ 0.05) alleviated these effects under DI, increasing plant height by 32.9%, total yield by 51.8%, SPAD value by 51.1%, and RWC by 31.0% relative to untreated stressed plants”
t0“Harnessing foliar-applied melatonin to improve yield and stress tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under deficit irrigation”
Claim · model-written summary
Melatonin enhanced tomato photosynthetic efficiency.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- MT applicatione0
- Outcome
- photosynthetic efficiencye0
- Direction
- enhancede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“MT application enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and preserved leaf integrity, reflected in reduced electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content”
t0“Harnessing foliar-applied melatonin to improve yield and stress tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under deficit irrigation”
Claim · model-written summary
Melatonin preserved tomato leaf integrity.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- MT applicatione0
- Outcome
- leaf integritye0
- Direction
- preservede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“MT application enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and preserved leaf integrity, reflected in reduced electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content”
t0“Harnessing foliar-applied melatonin to improve yield and stress tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under deficit irrigation”
Claim · model-written summary
Melatonin reduced tomato electrolyte leakage.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- MT applicatione0
- Outcome
- electrolyte leakagee0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“MT application enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and preserved leaf integrity, reflected in reduced electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content”
t0“Harnessing foliar-applied melatonin to improve yield and stress tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under deficit irrigation”
Claim · model-written summary
Melatonin reduced tomato malondialdehyde content.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- MT applicatione0
- Outcome
- malondialdehyde contente0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“MT application enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and preserved leaf integrity, reflected in reduced electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content”
t0“Harnessing foliar-applied melatonin to improve yield and stress tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under deficit irrigation”
Claim · model-written summary
Melatonin promoted detoxification of reactive oxygen species in tomato.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Outcome
- reactive oxygen species (H 2 O 2 and O 2 •– ) detoxificatione0
- Qualifier
- These improvements stemmed frome0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“These improvements stemmed from effective reactive oxygen species (H 2 O 2 and O 2 •– ) detoxification”
t0“Harnessing foliar-applied melatonin to improve yield and stress tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under deficit irrigation”
Claim · model-written summary
Melatonin significantly upregulated enzymatic antioxidants in tomato.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- melatonint0
- Gene
- superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), and glutathione reductase (GR)e0
- Outcome
- enzymatic antioxidantse0
- Direction
- upregulatione0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“a significant ( P ≤ 0.05) upregulation of enzymatic antioxidants [superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), and glutathione reductase (GR)]”
t0“Harnessing foliar-applied melatonin to improve yield and stress tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under deficit irrigation”
Claim · model-written summary
Melatonin increased accumulation of proline, ascorbate and α-tocopherol in tomato.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- melatonint0
- Outcome
- proline, ascorbate, α-tocopherole0
- Direction
- increaseinferrede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“accumulation of non-enzymatic osmoprotectants including proline, ascorbate, α-tocopherol, glutathione, and total soluble sugars”
t0“Harnessing foliar-applied melatonin to improve yield and stress tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under deficit irrigation”
Claim · model-written summary
Melatonin increased accumulation of glutathione and total soluble sugars in tomato.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- melatonint0
- Outcome
- glutathione, and total soluble sugarse0
- Direction
- increaseinferrede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“accumulation of non-enzymatic osmoprotectants including proline, ascorbate, α-tocopherol, glutathione, and total soluble sugars”
t0“Harnessing foliar-applied melatonin to improve yield and stress tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under deficit irrigation”
Claim · model-written summary
Full irrigation plus 100 μM melatonin produced the highest tomato fruit yield, 5.31 kg per plant.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- FI + 100 μM MTe0
- Outcome
- fruit productione0
- Direction
- higheste0
- Value
- 5.31 kg plant -1e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The FI + 100 μM MT treatment yielded the highest fruit production (5.31 kg plant -1 )”
t0“Harnessing foliar-applied melatonin to improve yield and stress tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under deficit irrigation”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors recommend foliar melatonin at 100 μM for sustaining tomato productivity under limited water.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- foliar MT application at 100 μMe0
- Outcome
- sustaining tomato productivitye0
- Qualifier
- under water-limited conditionse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“foliar MT application at 100 μM as an effective biostimulant strategy for sustaining tomato productivity under water-limited conditions”
t0“Harnessing foliar-applied melatonin to improve yield and stress tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under deficit irrigation”
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