Assessing the Interactive Effects of Priming and Drought Stress on Yield and Selected Growth Characteristics of Three Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) Cultivars

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Document Type : Research Paper

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Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran

Abstract

Zinc and iron are vital elements for plant growth and development. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of seed priming with zinc and iron sulfate on enhancing yield and yield components in three quinoa cultivars—Q12, Giza, and Q29—under varying levels of drought stress during the 2020 and 2021 crop seasons. The experiment was conducted as a split plot design, included three levels of drought stress (100%, 75%, and 50% of field capacity) as the main plot, with the subfactors being the quinoa cultivar and two priming treatments (no priming and priming). The results revealed a significant influence of priming and drought stress on all traits across both seasons. The plant growth parameters, seed yield, seed protein content, and oil content notably decreased under drought stress in both 2020 and 2021. The greatest improvements were observed in the 100% field capacity treatment, in which the grain weight (274.2 and 298.6 gr m-2), protein concentration (15.20 and 17.10%), and percentage of oil (3.33 and 3.54) increased in the seeds during both seasons. The proline (56 and 60%), superoxide dismutase (SOD) (52 and 26%), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) (70 and 67%), and catalase (CAT) (38 and 28%) activities significantly increased in 2020 and 2021, respectively. However, priming treatment effectively enhanced yield and growth attributes by mitigating oxidative damage in both seasons. The study showed that the Q12 cultivar displayed superior trait values, and priming with zinc sulfate + iron sulfate successfully sustained quinoa growth and seed yield under drought stress, even at 75% of field capacity.

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Journal of Medicinal plants and By-Products

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 15 December 2024

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