Chinese Journal of Agrometeorology ›› 2017, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (09): 537-547.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1000-6362.2017.09.001

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Effects of Continuous Overcast Weather on Cucumber Growth and Antioxidant Enzyme Activities in Glasshouse

XIONG Yu, DIAO Jia-min, XUE Xiao-ping, LV Xue-mei, ZHANG Ji-bo   

  1. 1.Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China; 2.Shandong Climate Center, Jinan 250031; 3. Linyi Meteorological Bureau, Linyi 276000
  • Received:2016-12-27 Online:2017-09-20 Published:2017-09-14

Abstract: In order to investigate the effects of overcast weather on cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Derit L108) growth in glasshouse, the experiment was conducted under two levels of photosynthetic active radiation(PAR): normal irradiation and low irradiation (<200μmol·m-2·s-1 photon), respectively. Five durations of continuous low irradiation were designed (1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 days), then both groups of plants were transferred under normal irradiation to recover for 9 days. The growth index and the activity of antioxidant enzymes in cucumber leaves were observed. The results showed that: (1) the SPAD value in cucumber leaves increased while the net photosynthesis rate decreased under low irradiation. The longer the duration, the smaller the net photosynthetic rate in cucumber leaves, and the worse on the recovery ability in cucumber leaves. (2) The morphological index of cucumber were significantly affected by low irradiation, and the height, the stem diameter and the leaf-area per plant were smaller under low irradiation after 7 and 9 days than the control respectively, and they could not return to the control level after 9 days under normal irradiation. The cucumber yield and the commercial character decreased with the continuous low irradiation. The activities of SOD, POD were increased and the CAT activity increased at the beginning and then decreased while the content of MDA continuous increased. The longer the duration of low irradiation, the cucumber suffered more by membrane lipid peroxidation. The metabolic function of cucumber leaves was difficult to recover when continuous low irradiation for more than 7 days.

Key words: Overcast weather, Glasshouse, Cucumber, Morphological index, Yield, Enzyme activities