PJB-2018-210
RESPONSE IN GROWTH AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF MORINGA OLEIFERA UNDER VARYING WATER HOLDING CAPACITIES
Shahzad Azam
Abstract
Growth performance and activities of enzymatic antioxidant of Moringa oleifera were investigated under simultaneous effect of water availability and plant growth regulators. Plant growth regulators i.e., cytokinin (50 mg L-1), thiourea (5 mM), benzyl amino purine (BAP @ 50 mg L-1), salicylic acid (50 mg L-1), hydrogen peroxide (120 µM) and ascorbic acid (50 mg L-1) were exogenously applied to moringa plants at three water holding capacity levels, 100, 70, and 40% in a completely randomized design with three replications. A decrease in shoot length, leaf score and number of branches was recorded at 100 and 40% water holding capacity as the plants respond well at 70% water holding capacity. BAP, cytokinin and salicylic acid were found as effective plant growth regulators in improving drought tolerance in moringa plants even at 40% water holding capacity. On the basis of these findings, moringa can be suggested to cultivate as a fodder crop under water deficit conditions and its tolerance can be further improved by foliar application of plant growth regulators.
To Cite this article:
Download
