Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Wheat and the Role of Silicon: An Experimental Evidence

Abstract

Silicon (Si) has beneficial effect on crop growth and development under water stress condition. The study about the effect of silicon application on growth and water relation of wheat under water-limited conditions was carried out in pots at PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Seeds of two cultivars, i.e., NARC-2009 and Chakwal-50, were taken from the National Agricultural Research Center (NARC). In this experiment, as the source of silicon, silicic acid, sodium silicate, and silica gel were used in the silicon-applied treatments. The effect of silicic acid, sodium silicate, and silica gel at rate of 0.5%, 1.0%, and 1.5% solution was investigated for germination, physiological, and yield traits, and it was compared with control. Physiological parameters like leaf membrane stability index, epicuticular wax, crop growth rate, relative water content, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, photosynthetic rate, leaf area, leaf area index, chlorophyll contents, leaf succulence, relative leaf water contents, silicon concentration in leaves, and proline contents were measured. The results depicted that different silicon rates and application levels have a significant impact upon crop growth and development. Wheat crop responded well to silicon priming treatments. Maximum grain yield was obtained for silica gel with 1.5% silicon application level, whereas minimum grain yield was obtained by control treatment. Similarly, genotypes responded significantly to silicon priming treatments for grain production. Cultivar NARC-2009 performed well under different silicon regime of the rainfed zone of pothwar, while cultivar Chakwal-50 gave less seed production. Silicon priming could be a good viable option in the future to cope abiotic stress.