Responses of sweet sorghum under ridge culture pattern to farmland waterlogging stress

Waterlogging is easily caused by common and heavy precipitation in the middle and lower reach regions of the Yangtze River in China. In this study, two culture patterns, ridge and flat, were conducted to determine the effect of culture patterns on the yield traits and antioxidant enzyme activity of sweet sorghum. The yield traits and antioxidant enzymes activity were evaluated and compared after applying waterlogging stress at the seedling stage. The results showed that when the sweet sorghum suffered waterlogging stress at the seedling stage, the stem diameter, dry weight per plant, number of leaves, and leaf area index (LAI) under the ridge culture pattern were significantly higher than those under the flat culture pattern (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the height and stem and leaf ratio of plants under ridge culture showed little differences compared to those under the flat culture pattern (P>0.05), and waterlogging stress had less impact on the antioxidant enzyme activities; SOD, POD and CAT were continually highly expressed under the ridge culture pattern. In conclusion, the experiment demonstrated that the application of ridge pattern culture improved the adaptability and yield of sweet sorghum under waterlogging stress.