Impact of Grain Priming and Silicon Spraying on the Response of Barley toAfter Anthesis Drought Stress

Abstract

Two field experiments were carried out in the experimental farm of Faculty of Desert and Environmental Agriculture, Fuka, Matrouh Branch, Alexandria University, Egypt, during two successive seasons 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 to study the effect of seed priming with Ascorbic and Salicylic Acids and spraying with silicon on drought tolerance of two barley cultivars, Giza 126 and Giza 2000. Six treatment were used as follows: Seed priming with Ascorbic acid (AA) and irrigation till heading (T1), seed priming with Salicylic acid (SA) and irrigation till heading (T2), seed priming with distilled water and irrigation till heading (T3), spraying with silicon and irrigation till heading (T4), dry seeds cultivation and irrigation till heading (T5) and dry seeds cultivation and all season irrigation (T6). The results indicated that post anthesis stress decreased grain yield by 17.1 % and 100-grain weight by 11.96 %, as an average of the two seasons. Hydropriming and osmopriming with salicylic acid, in addition to spraying with silicon, decreased the effect of drought and barley plants gave comparable grain yield to that of non-stress conditions. Barley cultivar Giza 126 was more tolerant to late drought compared to Giza 2000 cultivar with S values of 0.58 and 1.42, as an average of the two seasons, respectively.