PJB-2023-593
IMPACT OF SOIL APPLIED CELLULOLYTIC MICROBES AUGMENTED VERMICOMPOST ON TWO CONTRASTING WHEAT (TRITICUM AESTIVUM L.) CULTIVARS GROWN UNDER DROUGHT STRESS CONDITIONS
Ali Ahmad
Abstract
The important cereal crop wheat is commonly cultivated under arid and semi-arid areas, therefore usually suffers from drought stress conditions. The consequences of stress induced on wheat might be mitigated through amendments of cellulolytic microbes enriched vermicompost. Two field studies were conducted at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad Student Research Farm, Agronomy Department, Faculty of Agriculture, in the years 2020 and 2021, respectively, to investigate the effects of cellulolytic microbes enriched vermicompost on the agronomic, physiological, and enzymatic antioxidant characteristics of wheat under varied soil moisture regimes. Among the treatments were (a) three different soil moisture regimes: moderate drought (D1, 45% FC), severe drought (D2, 30% FC), and well-watered (D0, 70% of field capacity (FC)). Two divergent wheat varieties, Galaxy-13 (drought sensitive) and FSD-08 (drought tolerant) and (b) four levels of cellulolytic microbe-enriched vermicompost made from different substrates (VT0: Control, VT1: 6 t/ha wheat straw vermicompost, VT2: 6 t/ha rice straw vermicompost, and VT3: 4 t/ha cow dung vermicompost). The findings showed that crop growth and yield were highest in response to cow dung VT (4 t ha-1), followed by rice straw VT (6 t ha-1) and wheat straw VT (6 t ha-1). The lowest values were noted in the control where no vermicompost was used with both wheat cultivars Galaxy-13 as well as in Faisalabad-08. Faisalabad-08 outperformed than Galaxy-13 in terms of crop production and yield-related attributes under moderate and severe drought stress conditions. Concurrent research findings showed that growing wheat under drought stress circumstances significantly lowers the plant's agronomic, biochemical, physiological, and growth characteristics. However, vermicompost put to the soil had a beneficial effect on the wheat for increasing yield.
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