Alleviation of Drought Stress in Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merril] by Foliar Application of Thiourea on Productivity and Profitability under Rainfed Condition

Abstract

Background: In changing climatic scenario, plants often face periods of soil and atmospheric water deficits because of scarcity of water availability and deteriorating quality across the globe. Drought stress is the one of the major abiotic factors that reduce plant water status, obstructs photosynthesis, brings oxidative stress hindering soybean productivity. In view of this, bioregulators (thiourea) are innovative agricultural technique used to protect plants, minimizing the adverse effects caused by environmental stress. Therefore, an alternative to improve crop yield under rainfed condition by application of bioregulators like thiourea and suitable varieties are important in order to mitigate stress in soybean production. Methods: The field experiments were conducted in Factorial RBD with three replications. To know the impact of foliar spray of thiourea on growth, physiological parameters, yield parameters, yield and economics of two soybean varieties were carried out during kharif 2020, 2021 and 2022. Result: Long term results showed that, by using MACS 1188 variety of soybean and foliar spray of thiourea at 500 ppm and 750 ppm during the 25 and 55 DAS is a commendatory option and most remunerative for farmers to improve the productivity and profitability of soybean in Northern Transition Zone of Karnataka.