ArticleBMC plant biology2026
Synergistic melatonin and myo-inositol application reinforces antioxidant defence, osmotic homeostasis, and membrane stability in Western Himalayan apple rootstocks under drought stress.
Article in BMC plant biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Drought stress induces profound biochemical and physiological disturbances in apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.), including oxidative imbalance, chlorophyll degradation, osmotic disruption, and membrane injury. This study evaluated the individual and synergistic effects of two key metabolites, melatonin (MT) and myo-inositol (MI) in enhancing drought resilience across five genetically diverse apple rootstocks (MM 111, MM 106, Bud 118, MM 116, and M9). A two-phase experimental framework was implemented, beginning with metabolite dose optimisation under 40% field capacity using the Response Index (RI) and Comprehensive Response Index (CRI). The combined application T3 (100 µM MT + 100 µM MI) consistently exhibited the lowest CRI values, indicating superior biochemical stability and stress mitigation. In Phase II, selected treatments were evaluated under drought (40% FC) and irrigated (100% FC) regimes across two seasons. Drought markedly reduced chlorophyll stability and osmolyte balance while elevating electrolyte leakage and oxidative stress markers. In contrast, the optimised combined treatment (100 µM MT + 100 µM MI) significantly enhanced antioxidant activity, maintained chlorophyll integrity, stabilised membranes, and improved osmotic regulation. Among the evaluated rootstocks, Bud 118 and MM 111 showed the highest biochemical responsiveness, reflecting a strong genotype × metabolite interaction. Overall, the results demonstrate that melatonin and myo-inositol act synergistically to fortify antioxidant defences and mitigate drought-induced biochemical injury. Collectively, this study demonstrates that targeted metabolite application, when strategically integrated with genetically drought-tolerant rootstocks, offers a scientifically robust and practically deployable framework for reinforcing biochemical stability, safeguarding photosynthetic function, and sustaining apple productivity under escalating drought scenarios in the North-Western Himalayan region.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.