Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
Abstract
Drought stress is a major constraint in arid and semiarid regions, such as Iran. The application of some soil conditioners, like superabsorbent polymers, could be effective in absorbing seasonal rain and suitable source of water for plant growth during dry seasons. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficiency of superabsorbent polymers on improvement of Calotropis procera L. seedling under drought stress. The experimental design was a factorial arrangement in randomized complete blocks with six replicates. Treatments included drought stress at three levels of 100% fc, 75% fc, 50% fc, as well as superabsorbent polymers at four levels of 0, 2 , 4, 6 gr per kg of soil. Emergence percentage, emergence rate, shoot length, root length, leaf number, leaf area, shoot dry weight, root dry weight, leaf dry weight, seedling dry weight and water use efficiency were significantly affected by the interaction of drought and superabsorbent polymer. Our results indicated that under drought stress, high amounts of superabsorbent polymer had significant positive effects on shoot length, root length, leaf area, root dry weight and water use efficiency.
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