Response of Two Bread Wheat Cultivars to Foliar Spray by Salicylic and Ascorbic Acids under Water Stress Conditions

Abstract

Three field experiments were conducted at El-Wady El-Assiuty Experimental Farm, Agriculture Faculty, Assiut University, Assiut Governorate during 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 seasons to study the effect of foliar spray by antioxidant (salicylic and ascorbic acids) on the productivity of two bread wheat cultivars. Each experiment was subjected to one of three levels of evapotranspiration (100% or 75% or 50% of ET i.e. 4800, 3600 and 2400 m 3 , respectively) including two factors i.e wheat cultivars (Masr1 and Shandaweel 1) and three treatments of antioxidant (100 ppm salicylic, 100 ppm ascorbic and 100 ppm salicylic + 100 ppm ascorbic) using randomized complete block design in split plot arrangement with three replications. The obtained results showed that all studied factors and their involved interactions had significant effects on most of studied traits in the two growing seasons. Thus, the highest mean values of grain yield (3.24 and 3.27-ton ha -1 in the first and second seasons, respectively) were obtained from Masr 1 cultivar under 75% ET with 100 ppm Salicylic acid as foliar spray, while, the highest mean values of WUE (1.24 and 1.17 kg m -3 in the first and second seasons, respectively) were obtained from Masr 1 cultivar irrigated by 50% ET and sprayed by 100 ppm ascorbic acid.