Foliar application of diethyl aminoethyl hexanoate and homobrassinolide enhances cold tolerance in wheat at the jointing stage: physiological mechanisms

作者：Yuanxin Shen, Junqin Yue, Ning He, Xiangdong Li, Haifang Pang, Baoting Fang, H Y Wang, Haiyang Jin, D Zhang, Hongjian Cheng, Cheng Yang, Fei Zheng, Yunhui Shao · 发表于：Frontiers in Plant Science · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.3389/fpls.2026.1911607 · 研究领域：Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance、Wheat and Barley Genetics and Pathology、Plant responses to water stress

Introduction In the Huang-Huai region of China, low spring temperatures during the jointing stage frequently cause substantial yield losses in winter wheat, posing a serious threat to wheat production. Methods To develop a safe and effective exogenous regulation strategy, we investigated the effects of foliar application of a compound formulation containing diethyl aminoethyl hexanoate (DA-6) and 28-homobrassinolide (28-HBL) at different concentrations on two winter wheat cultivars, Bainong207 (BN207) and Zhengmai136 (ZM136), under simulated low-temperature (LT) stress (−3°C for12h) during the jointing stage. Physiological and yield-related parameters, including leaf antioxidant enzyme activities, osmoregulatory substance contents, cell ultrastructure, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, seed-setting rates at different spikelet positions, and yield components, were evaluated to identify the optimal application rate and elucidate the physiological mechanisms underlying enhanced cold tolerance. Results The results showed that foliar application of the DA-6/28-HBL compound formulation, particularly at 10mL/667m 2 (N2), significantly increased the activities of leaf antioxidant enzymes, including super oxide dismutase (SOD)and catalase (CAT). It also promoted the accumulation of soluble sugars, soluble proteins, and proline while reducing malondialdehyde (MDA) content. These physiological responses effectively maintained the integrity of leaf cell ultrastructure and improved pho...