Effects of floating nursing seedling in nutrient water-bed on physiological and biochemical characteristics of cotton seedlings

The effects of floating nursing seedling in nutrient water-bed (FNS) on physiological and biochemical characteristics of cotton seedlings and the morphological characteristics of transplants in the field were studied using Nongza 66 as the test material. The results showed that the TTC reductive intensity of root system, and the leaf chlorophyll, soluble protein and sugar contents, and the leaf photosynthetic efficiency of cotton seedlings were increased in seedlings treated by FNS compared with nutritive bowls nursing seedling (BNS). From the 1st to 5th true leaves seedling stages, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) in true leaves of cotton seedlings treated by FNS were higher than those of the BNS; while the accumulation of malondiadehyde (MDA) was decreased, which could protect the intactness of membrane structure and increase the stress resistance of cotton seedlings. Moreover, the proline content and the nitrate reductase activity of cotton leaves were increased in the seedlings treated by FNS. Compared with BNS, the plant height, fresh and dry weight of shoot, fresh and dry weight of root and root volume of cotton transplants from seedlings cultivated by FNS were increased at different growth stages.