Biochemical and Physiological Responses of Capsicum annuum and Two Competitive Weeds (Acanthospermum hispidum and Euphorbia heterophylla) Under Induced Salinity
Main Article Content
Abstract
Sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is a widespread and popular crop grown in arid and semi-arid areas and often encounters competition with weeds. This study examined the oxidative stress indicators and antioxidant defense responses of Capsicum annuum under induced salinity stress in monoculture and mixed cultures with Acanthospermum hispidum and Euphorbia heterophylla. Data for the study was obtained from laboratory analysis for physiological and biochemical parameters. Result of the study revealed that Malondialdehyde was significantly affected by treatments (P < 0.001), with the highest value content recorded in monoculture at 25% salinity (204.91±4.50) and the lowest in the mixture of C. annuum and A. hispidum at the same concentration (84.62±3.10). Glutathione was highest in C. annuum and E. heterophylla mixture at 5% with 35.21±1.70 and lowest at 25% in C. annuum and A. hispidum mixture (14.80±1.70), with significant treatment effects and interaction with A. hispidum (P < 0.001). Total protein content showed no significant treatment or interaction effects, although highest values were observed at moderate salinity. Total phenols and flavonoids were significantly affected by salinity levels (P < 0.001 and P < 0.000144, respectively), with TPH highest in the C. annuum and E. heterophylla mixture at 10% NaCl with 38.24±1.30 and TF was highest in monoculture at 10% NaCl with 8.92±2.50. Catalase activity showed no significant differences (P = 0.057), whereas superoxide dismutase activity was highly significant (P < 0.000), with the highest value at 25% in monoculture with 3.90±0.20 and lowest in the C. annuum and E. heterophylla mixture with 1.04±0.06. The study concludes that Acanthospermum hispidum have a relatively less stressful effect than Euphorbia heterophylla and recommended aggressive management should be encouraged to protect crop physiological health.
Article Details
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr Adili, ismaeel umar kura, Dr Musa (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Muhammad, M. T., Department of Biological Science, Sokoto State University Sokoto, Nigeria.
Senior Lecturer
Aebi, H. (1984). Catalase in Vitro. Methods Enzymol. 105, 121–126. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0076-6879(84)05016-3
Ahmad, P., Alyemeni, M. N., Al-Huqail, A. A., Alqahtani, M. A. and Alam, P. (2022). Secondary Metabolites and Antioxidant Defense in Plants Under Abiotic Stress. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, 884890. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.884890 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.884890
Alpert (2003). Perspect. Plant Ecol. Evol. Syst. 3:52–66. Copyright 2000 With Permission from Elsev
Beyer, W. F., Jr., & Fridovich, I. (1987). Assaying for superoxide dismutase activity: Some large consequences of minor changes in conditions. Analytical Biochemistry, 161(2), 559–566. https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-2697(87)90489-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-2697(87)90489-1
Blainski, A., Lopes, G. C. and Palazzodemello, J. C. (2013). Application and Analysis of the Folin Ciocalteu Method for the Determination of the Total Phenolic Content from Limonium brasiliense L. Molecules 18, 6852–6865. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules18066852
Blainski, A., Lopes, G. C., & de Mello, J. C. P. (2013). Application and analysis of the Folin–Ciocalteu method for the determination of the total phenolic content from Limonium brasiliense L. Molecules, 18(6), 6852–6865. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules18066852 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules18066852
Bollen, M., Pilditch, C. A., Battershill, C. N. and Bischof, K. (2016). Salinity and Temperature Tolerance of The Invasive Alga Undaria pinnatifida and native New Zealand Kelps: Implications for Competition. Mar. Biol. 163, 194. doi: 10.1007/s00227-016-2954- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-016-2954-3
Conell, J. P. and Mullet, J. E. (1986). Pea Chloroplast Glutathione Reductase: Purification and Characterization. Plant Physiology. 82, 351–356. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.82.2.351
Connell, J. P., & Mullet, J. E. (1986). Regulation of glutathione reductase activity in plants under oxidative stress. Plant Physiology, 82(2), 352–356. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.82.2.352 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.82.2.351
Darmanti, S.; Santosa, L.H.; Dewi, K.; Nugroho, L.H. Antioxidative Defenses of Soybean [Glycine Max (L.) Merr. Cv. Grobogan] Against Purple Nutsedge (Cyperus Rotundus L.) Interference During Drought Stress. J. Anim. Plant Sci. 2016, 26, 225–232.
Federal Department of Forestry. (2018). National forest reference emission level for Nigeria. Federal Ministry of Environment.
Federal Ministry of Environment. (2020). National climate change policy for Nigeria. Federal Ministry of Environment.
Food and Agriculture Organization. (2017). Soil map of Nigeria: Digital soil mapping and classification. FAO.
Guo, W. Y., Van Kleunen, M., Winter, M., Weigelt, P., Stein, A., Pierce, S., Pergl, J., Moser, D., Maurel, N., Lenzner, B., Kreft, H., Essl, F., Dawson, W. and Pyšek, P. (2023). The Role of Adaptive Strategies in Plant Naturalization. Ecology Letters 21(9):1380–1389 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13104
Hasan, M., Ahmad Hamdani, M. S., Rosli, A. M., & Hamdan, H. (2021). Bioherbicides: An eco friendly tool for sustainable weed management. Plants, 10(6), 1212. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10061212 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10061212
Hasanuzzaman, M., Bhuyan, M. H. M. B., Zulfiqar, F., Raza, A., and Fotopoulos, V. (2023). Reactive Oxygen Species and Antioxidant Defense Under Salinity Stress in Plants. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 186, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2022.12.012 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2022.12.012
Hodges, D. M., DeLong, J. M., Forney, C. F., & Prange, R. K. (1999). Improving the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances assay for estimating lipid peroxidation in plant tissues containing anthocyanin and other interfering compounds. Planta, 207(4), 604–611. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004250050524 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s004250050524
Horvath, D. P., Clay, S. A., Swanton, C. J., Anderson, J. V., & Chao, W. S. (2023). Weed induced crop yield loss: A new paradigm and new challenges. Trends in Plant Science, 28(3), 238–254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2022.12.014 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2022.12.014
Iqbal, N., Umar, S. and Khan, N. A. (2022). Antioxidant Enzyme Responses of Pepper Plants Under Salt Stress. Photosynthetica, 60(2), 215–227.
Jia, X., Pan, X., & He, Y. (2016). Invasive plants and abiotic drivers: Global patterns and regional consequences. Journal of Plant Ecology, 9(3), 285–296. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtv053 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtv053
Khedir, A. A., & Roeth, F. W. (1981). Effect of hot water pretreatment on weed seed germination. Weed Science, 29(3), 310–314. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0043174500040042
Kumar, R., Dasari, S., & Basavaraj, P. S. (Eds.). (2025). Climate change: Impact of elevated CO₂ and temperature on crops, weeds and soil microbes. Boca Raton: CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003483854 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003483854
Kumar, S., Dubey, R. S. and Tripathi, R. D. (2023). Regulation of Enzymatic Antioxidants in Crop Plants Under Salinity Stress. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 205, 105092. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2023.105092
Legault, R., Zogg, G. P. and Travis, S. E. (2018). Competitive Interactions Between Native Spartina alterniflora and non-native Phragmites australis Depend on Nutrient Loading and Temperature. PloS One 13, e0192234. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192234 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192234
Lichtenthaler, H. K. (1987). Chlorophylls and carotenoids: Pigments of photosynthetic biomembranes. In R. Douce & L. Packer (Eds.), Methods in Enzymology (Vol. 148, pp. 350–382). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/0076-6879(87)48036-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0076-6879(87)48036-1
Lichtenthaler, H. K. and Wellburn, A. R. (1983). Determinations of Total Carotenoids and Chlorophylls A and B of Leaf Extracts in Different Solvents. Biochem. Soc. T 11, 591–592. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1042/bst0110591
Liu, Y., Wang, L., Zhang, X. and Li, D. (2023). Interactive Effects of Biotic and Abiotic Stress on Antioxidant Metabolism in Plants. BMC Plant Biology, 23, 412.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-023-04465-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-023-04465-8
Lockwood, J.L., Hoopes, M.F. and Marchetti, M.P. (2013). Invasion Ecology; Wiley: New York, NY, USA, p. 444.
Mahmudul, H., Anis, S. M., Khairil, M., Zulkarami, B., Adam, M., Hafzuddin, H., Mst. M. and Muhammad, S. H. (2022). Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Selected Weed and Crop Species to the Plant Based Bioherbicide 12:19602 | Https://Doi.Org/10.1038/S41598-022-24144-2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-24144-2
Molina, M., Cabrera, J., & de Mello, J. C. P. (2010). Determination of total phenolic content expressed as gallic acid equivalents in plant extracts. Food Chemistry, 123(3), 765–771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2010.05.014 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2010.05.014
Nakano, Y., & Asada, K. (1981). Hydrogen peroxide is scavenged by ascorbate specific peroxidase in spinach chloroplasts. Plant and Cell Physiology, 22(5), 867–880. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.pcp.a076232 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.pcp.a076232
National Bureau of Statistics. (2019). Annual abstract of statistics 2018. National Bureau of Statistics.
National Water Resources Institute. (2021). Hydrological assessment of major river basins in Nigeria. National Water Resources Institute.
Nigerian Meteorological Agency. (2022). Climatological bulletin of Nigeria 2021. Nigerian Meteorological Agency.
Qi, M., Sun, T., Zhang, H., Zhu, M., Yang, W. and Shao, D. (2017). Maintenance of Salt Barrens Inhibited Landward Invasion of Spartina Species in Salt Marshes. Ecosphere 8 (10), e01982. doi: 10.1002/ecs2.1982 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1982
Ramegowda, V., Senthil, A. and Senthil-Kumar, M. Stress combinations and their interactions in crop plants. Plant Physiol. Rep. 29, 1–5 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40502-024-00785-5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40502-024-00785-5
Silva, A. A., Pontes Junior, V. B., D’ Antonino, L., Mendes, K. F. and Medeiros, B. A. P. (2022). Methods of Control and Integrated Management of Weeds in Agriculture. In Applied Weed and Herbicide Science (pp. 127-156). Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-01938-8_4
Singh, S., Singh, N., Shukla, A. and Anwar, H. (2016). Impact of Mixed Cropping on Reducing Lipid Peroxidation Under Stress Conditions in Tomato and Pepper plants. Journal of Agricultural Science, 8 (6), 45-57.
Vilà, M., & Weiner, J. (2004). Are invasive plant species better competitors than native plant species? Evidence from pair wise experiments. Oikos, 105(2), 229–238. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2004.12682.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2004.12682.x
Wang, J., Zhang, H., Li, Y. and Chen, Z. (2024). Salinity Stress Alters Antioxidant Enzyme Activities in Pepper Seedlings. Scientific Reports, 14, 30619.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-30619-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-30619-7
Wang, W., Vinocur, B. and Altman, A. (2003). Plant Responses to Drought, Salinity, And Extreme Temperatures. Planta, 218, 1-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-003-1105-5
Wang, Z.; Cai, X. and Yin, Z. (2021). Research Progress on Phenotypic Plasticity of Invasive Plants in Response to Drought Stress. In Proceedings of the 2021 5th International Conference on Advances in Energy, Environment and Chemical Science (AEECS 2021), Shanghai, China, 26–28 February 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202124502020
Yu, J., Sharpe, S. M. and Boyd, N. S. (2019). Fumigants Alone or in Combination with Herbicide for Weed Management in Bell Pepper (Capsicum annuum). Crop Protection. 118, 31–35 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2018.12.010
Zhishen, J., Mengcheng, T., & Jianming, W. (1999). The determination of flavonoid contents in mulberry and their scavenging effects on superoxide radicals. Food Chemistry, 64(4), 555–559. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0308-8146(98)00102-2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0308-8146(98)00102-2
Article Sidebar
