THE IMPACT OF SEED PRIMING AND ROW SPACING ON THE PRODUCTIVITY OF DIFFERENT CULTIVARS OF IRRIGATED WHEAT UNDER EARLY SEASON DROUGHT

Abstract

SUMMARYThis study was conducted to improve wheat production under vegetative (early season) drought stress. Hydroprimed and osmoprimed (with CaCl2) seeds of wheat cultivars Lasani-2008 (LS-2008) and Triple Dwarf-1 (TD-1), were sown in 20 (narrow), 25 (medium), and 30 cm (wider) spaced rows. Crop was grown under well-watered conditions till physiological maturity or was subjected to drought stress (50% field capacity) during vegetative phase and then grown under well-watered conditions. Drought stress caused substantial reduction in grain and biological yields, related traits, harvest index (HI) and water use efficiency (WUE). Nonetheless, planting osmoprimed seeds in narrowly spaced rows significantly improved the grain yield, HI and WUE. However, wheat planted in wider rows had bold grains. Furthermore, wheat cultivar LS-2008 produced better yield, even under drought stress, than cultivar TD-1. Economic analysis indicated that planting osmoprimed seeds of wheat cultivar LS-2008 in narrowly spaced rows under early season drought yielded maximum economic benefits. In conclusion, planting osmoprimed seeds of cultivar LS-2008 in narrowly spaced rows is a good agronomic option to improve the wheat performance under early season drought stress.