Influence of Wate Stress on the Morphophysiological and Biochemical Traits of the Medicinal Plant Teucrium stocksianum Boiss.

In order to investigate the effect of drought stress on some morphological, physiological, and biochemical traits of the medicinal plant Teucrium stocksianum Boiss, an experiment was conducted in the form of a completely randomized design by 5 rounds of irrigation of 0, 4, 6, 8 and 10 days and in four replications. The results showed that severe drought stress caused a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in leaf length and width, plant height and width, root length, plant width, the diameter of main and secondary stems, fresh weight of shoots and roots, and dry weight of shoot and root, relative humidity content, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, carotenoids. The highest amount of ion leakage, proline, catalase, polyphenol oxidase, malondialdehyde, flavonoid, and anthocyanin were observed in severe drought treatment. In general, by using defense mechanisms such as reduction of morphological traits, rapid accumulation of organic substances regulating osmosis, and increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes, the medicinal plant Teucrium stocksianum Boiss showed a suitable response to drought stress and absorbed nutrients by spending minimal energy and the growth continues.