Foliar application of potassium and moringa leaf extract improves growth, physiology and productivity of kabuli chickpea grown under varying sowing regimes

Abstract

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is of prime importance because of vital source of protein as major food legume. Globally, it is cultivated on large area to meet dietary requirements of humans. Climatic extremes (erratic rainfall, extreme high and low temperature) are key restrains for its production. Optimum sowing time is considered as an important factor to address climatic variations and to attain maximum yield. Foliar application of potassium (K) has also been reported to increase resistance against abiotic stresses. Similarly, exogenous application of plant based growth substances (bio-stimulants) like moringa leaf extract (MLE) are extensively used to enhance productivity of field crops. Therefore, current study was planned to evaluate the impact of foliar applied K and MLE on growth, physiology and productivity of kabuli chickpea grown under varying sowing dates. There were two sowing dates (normal sown; November 15 and late sown; December 15, 2020). Experiment was comprised of treatments i.e. control, water spray, foliar application of K at 1%, foliar application of MLE at 3% and combined application of K and MLE. Foliar applied K and MLE significantly improved physiological, biochemical and yield attributes of kabuli chickpea cultivated under normal and late sown conditions. Increase in growth and yield attributes like plant height, number of nodules per plant, nodules dry weight, branches and pods per plant, 100- grain weight, biological and grain yield were recorded in case of combined foliar application of K and MLE in normal and late sown chickpea. Maximum improvement in gas exchange attributes (stomatal conductance and transpiration rate), chlorophyll contents, antioxidants (catalase, superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase) and osmolytes (proline) were recorded with combined application of K and MLE in both sowing dates. Thus, combined applied K and MLE can be used to enhance productivity of kabuli chickpea.

Enhancing sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) resilience grown in cadmium-contaminated saline soil: a synergistic approach using Moringa leaf extract and effective microorganisms application

“…This significant improvement could be attributed to the effective role of MLE as a good source of amino acids, phenolic acids, nutrients, soluble sugars, and antioxidants like ascorbate and free proline (Table S1 ), which subsequently enhanced the accumulation of these antioxidants and enabled sweet potato plants to tolerate Cd 2+ and salinity stress. Besides, its considerable levels of carotenoids (α, β carotene, lutein, and xanthin) have potent antioxidant properties (Irshad et al 2022 ; Khan et al 2022 ; Martínez-ispizua et al 2022a ). A similar finding was observed by Zulfiqar et al ( 2020 ) and Khalofah et al ( 2020 ), who reported that MLE application caused a considerable increase in GR, SOD, and APX antioxidants in common bean plants.…”

“…The roots and leaves of these trees are regarded as sources of current plant biostimulants (Abd El-Mageed et al 2017 ). The Moringa leaf extract (MLE) is a naturally rich resource of essential amino acids, carotenoids, flavonoids, proteins, vitamins (A, B 2 , C, and E), ascorbates, phenolics, and numerous nutrients, making it a superior plant growth bio-regulator (Abalaka et al 2022 ; Irshad et al 2022 ). Further, MLE was shown to be a good source of numerous antioxidants and phytohormones, such as cytokinins (zeatin), auxins, and gibberellins (Abd El-Mageed et al 2017 ).…”

Foliar Application of Tropical Trees Leaf Extract for Improve Growth and Yield of Blackgram [Vigna mungo (L). Hepper]

“…Moringa, bael, notchi, and Albizia amara tree leaf extracts have nutritional, insecticidal, and fungicidal properties [14]. Similarly, the tree leaf extracts had improved the growth and yield of the crops [15,14,16,17]. However, the standardization of various leaf extracts with effective concentration is need to be studied.…”

The Impact of Trichoderma harzianum Together with Copper and Boron on Wheat Yield

“…This approach is efficient and helps the quick absorption of micronutrient by organs and tissues of crop. , Foliar application of micronutrient especially Cu and B is a good approach for sustainable agriculture and it provides micronutrients directly on the leaves and other parts of plant . The foliage application of micronutrients significantly increases the quality and yield of many cereal crops, vegetables, and fruits under alkaline and calcareous conditions. − Kumar et al have reported considerably enhanced wheat plant phenological and agronomic attributes in response to foliage feeding of micronutrients.…”