Seaweed Extract as A Biostimulant Ameliorate Wheat Growth Under Drought Stress

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Soil and Water Sciences Dept., Agriculture College, Alexandria University.

2 Higher Institute of Science and Technology, Elmerj

3 soil and water Science Faculty of agricutural Alexandria Unversity

Abstract

Seaweed extract (SE) is an effective strategy for reducing drought stress and increasing crop productivity. Wheat is the most widely farmed and consumed crop in the world. This study aims to determine how SE mitigates the effects of water stress on wheat plants. The concentrations of SE used were 0, 0.2, 0.5, and 1 g SE/500 g soil. Three different levels of field capacity (FC) were applied (50, 75, and 100%) to investigate the effect of water stress. The results demonstrated that morphological parameters declined when wheat plants exposed to water stress.  Relative water content (RWC), potassium and phosphorus uptake, and chlorophyll content also decreased during drought stress, whereas soluble sugar, proline, and peroxidase enzyme activity (POX) increased. On the other hand, morphological characteristics, chlorophyll, RWC, soluble sugar, potassium and phosphorus uptake, chlorophyll content, and POX were all improved by SE application, especially at 0.5g SE/500 g soil concentration. According to the current study, drought stress can be reduced by applying SE at a concentration of 0.5 g SE/500 g soil.

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