Effect of putrescine on growth and productivity of wheat under water stress conditions

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur, Rajasthan during

rabi 2013-14 to assess the effect of putrescine in mitigating the water stress in wheat. The experiment

consisted of 4 water stress conditions (no water stress, water stress at tillering stage, heading stage

and both tillering + heading stage ) and 4 rates of putrescine spray viz., control (water spray), 10

ppm, 50 ppm and 100 ppm. Treatments were evaluated using split-plot design allocating water

stress treatments in main- plots and foliar spray of putrescine in sub-plots with four replication.

Water stress at tillering, heading and tillering + heading stages caused significant reduction in

grain yield, the magnitude of reduction being 4.0, 11.3 and 16.8 %, respectively over no water stress.

No water stress treatment recorded the highest net returns (` 91484ha-1) and B:C ratio (3.1). Proline

content increased while Relative Water Content (RWC) and chlorophyll content decreased under

water stress treatments as compared to no water stress treatments. Foliar spray of putrescine 50

ppm resulted in significantly higher grain (5712 kg ha-1), straw (8672 kg ha-1) and biological (14384

kg ha-1) yields that were found at par with foliar spray of 100 ppm putrescine. Foliar spray of

putrescine fetched lower net returns and B:C ratio as compared to water spray. However, foliar

spray of 50 ppm and 100 ppm putrescine significantly increased proline content, RWC, chlorophyll

content, over foliar spray of putrescine 10 ppm and water spray.