PJB-2023-341
IMPACTS OF ORGANIC GROWTH ENHANCERS AND OSMOPROTECTANTS ON WHEAT (Triticum aestivum L.) UNDER WATER SCARCITY
SHAHKAR ALI
Abstract
The impact of climatic variations on crop growth and yield is perilous to attain and maintain worldwide food demand. Presently Pakistan is positioned among those countries which are facing climatic fluctuations most adversely. As climatic changes are the cause of water scarcity, by climatic changes wheat is one of the most affected crops in Pakistan. Water scarcity limited the growth, yield and nutritional value of wheat (Triticum aestivum L). The current experiment was conducted for two succeeding years (2018-19 and 2019-20) at the Agronomic research zone of Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) Multan, Pakistan to find out how efficiently wheat overcomes water scarcity by application of organic growth enhancers (FEF=Fish emulsion fertilizer and MLE=Moringa leaf extracts) and osmoprotectants (Control, Gb= Glycine betaine, Th=Trehalose, Gb+Th=Glycine betaine + Trehalose). The crop was sown with a Randomized Complete Block (RCBD) Design with the split-plot arrangement. Organic growth enhancers were applied later 30 days after sowing with a ratio of 1/30 diluted solution of moringa leaf extract and 3 tablespoons/gallon of water fish emulsion fertilizer. Osmoprotectants were applied two times (seed priming+foliar application at the anthesis stage) at the rate of 150 mg/liter of water. Water scarcity was imposed on the crop by giving 10 acre inches of water in each treatment out of 16 acre inches of crop water requirement. Both year data as regards growth and development, yield, quality, crop water relation and antioxidant contents production were collected, averaged and statistically analyzed. Acquired results of all the recorded attributes of the experiment prove that all applied organic growth enhancers and osmoprotectants improve crop performance under water scarcity. In organic growth enhancers, moringa leaf extract (MLE) performs better than fish emulsion fertilizer (FEF) while among osmoprotectants glycine betaine (Gb) and a combination of glycine betaine+trehalose (Gb+Th) stayed fruitful in most of the parameters.
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