ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Exploring the Potential of Silicon and Salicylic
Acid in the Alleviation of Water Deficit
Stress in Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa)
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Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad 38040-Pakistan
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Saline Agriculture Research Centre, University of Agriculture Faisalabad 38040-Pakistan
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Department of Soil Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha,
40100-Sargodha, Pakistan
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Department of Forestry and Range Management, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, 38040-Pakistan
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School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
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Department of Environmental Science, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University Sheringal,
Dir (U) 18000, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
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Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur Pakistan
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Department of Life Sciences, Western Caspian University, Baku, Azerbaijan
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Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Submission date: 2023-12-06
Final revision date: 2024-03-29
Acceptance date: 2024-04-30
Online publication date: 2024-09-04
Corresponding author
Muhammad Mazhar Iqbal
Department of Soil Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha,
40100-Sargodha, Pakistan
Allah Ditta
Department of Environmental Sciences, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University Sheringal, Dir (U), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 18000, Pakistan, Pakistan
Rashid Iqbal
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur Pakistan
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ABSTRACT
Global warming and less uncertain rainfall have resulted in climate change and water deficit stress
conditions which had a deleterious impact on the agroecosystem. Silicon (Si) exists as a beneficial
component in soil and has a significant role in overcoming water scarcity problems. Si can maintain crop
yield and growth even in stress conditions like salinity and water deficit stress. Salicylic acid supports
the crop to withstand the harmful effects of salinity and drought stress. This growth regulator together
with silicon works to alleviate the water deficit stress condition. A foliar spray of SA is beneficial for
plants. A pot experiment was conducted in the greenhouse of the Institute of Soil and Environmental
Sciences to evaluate the effect of Si (Control, 100 and 200 mg kg-1) and SA (Control and 1 mM) on
quinoa under water deficit conditions. Treatments included: T1 = Control, T2 = Si at 100 mg kg-1,
T3 = Si at 200 mg kg-1, T4 = 1 mM SA foliar, T5 = Si at 100 mg kg-1 + 1 mM SA foliar, T6 = Si
at 200 mg kg-1 + 1 mM SA foliar, T7 = Water deficit, T8 = Water deficit + Si at 100 mg kg-1, T9 = Water
deficit + Si at 200 mg kg-1, T10 = Water deficit + 1 mM SA foliar, T11 = Water deficit + Si at 100 mg kg-1
+ 1 mM SA foliar, T12 = Water deficit + Si at 200 mg kg-1 + 1 mM SA foliar. Two water levels, control (100% FC) and deficit water stress (60% FC) were used. In the first four weeks after germination,
all pots were equally irrigated and after this, water deficit stress started. A completely Randomized
Design (CRD) was used to establish the experiment with three replications under a factorial arrangement.
The crop was harvested at the maturity stage. It was found that water shortage followed a substantial
decline in the growth and yield of quinoa. However, Si and SA improved the fresh and dry weight of the
shoot, plant height, SPAD value, RWC, MSI, and productivity of quinoa under normal and water stress
conditions. Therefore, it is concluded that SA and Si applications proved effective in improving crop
growth in deficit water conditions by increasing the deficit water stress tolerance of quinoa plants.