Effects of methanol on morphological characteristics of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) under drought stress
2012
Hossinzadeh, Saeed Reza , M.Sc student, Faculty of Science, Tarbiat Moalem University, Iran. | Salimi, Azam , Assistant Professor, Faculty of Science, Tarbiat Moalem University | Ganjeali, Ali , Assistant Professor, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
Available water is the major factor limiting plant growth and production in arid environments. According to research studies, foliar application of methanol has an important role in drought tolerance of C3 plants. In order to evaluate the effects of foliar application of methanol on some morphological characteristics of chickpea under drought stress, a factorial experiment was conducted based on completely randomized design with three replications in 2011 at the Recearch Center for Sciences of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. The first factor was different levels of methanol concentration including 0 (control), 20, 25, 30, 35 volumetric percentage (v/v), which were used as foliar applications at three times during growth season of chickpea, with 10 days intervals. Second factor was moisture regimes in two levels including 25 and 100 percent of field capacity. Results showed that there were significant differences (P0.01) amongst methanol concentrations in terms of plant height, number of branches, leaf dry weight, leaf number per pod, root and shoot dry weight, tap root length and area root to leaf area ratio. Spraying with 25% volume level significantly increased plant height, leaf dry weight, leaf number per pod, root and shoot dry weight, tap root length, root to leaf area ration compared with the control. Interactions between drought and methanol had a significant effect (P 0.05) on traits such as dry leaf weight, leaf number per pod, shoot dry weight and leaf area. Results indicated that foliar application of methanol with 25 and 30% volume can be recommended for increasing chickpea yield.
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