Exploring the Role of Foliar Application of Aspirin on Growth and Productivity of Wheat under Control and Rainfed Conditions

Abstract

Aspirin (Acetylsalicylic acid) is an important signal molecule modulating plant responses to stress. Drought significantly decreased the growth rate and impaired the yield of wheat. Acetylsalicylic acid can improve the performance of wheat under both well-watered and drought conditions. Applying salicylic acid at a relatively low concentration positively impacted the physiological, yield, and growth parameters. In order to determine the effect of foliar application of Aspirin levels on growth, yield, and its components of wheat, two experiments, i.e., control and rainfed, were conducted to evaluate the effect of salicylic acid were carried out at glasshouse of Research Area, Department of Agronomy and university research farm Koont of PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi during cropping season 2019-20. Four treatments of Aspirin (Control, 120 mg/L, 180 mg/L, and 240 mg/L) for glasshouse (Control, 20 g/L, 30 g/L, 40 g/L) for rainfed were applied, which are to be known as As0, As1, As2, and As3 for both experiments. Foliar application of Aspirin solution sprayed at growth stage 37 on the Zadoks scale. Results of experiments revealed that for the 180mg/L of Aspirin (As2), improved growth parameters such as plant height, spike length, number of spikelets, and increased the wheat crop yield. In contrast, for the rainfed experiment, the plant height, spike length, number of spikelets, and increased yield were observed by applying 30 g/L (As2) of Aspirin, and the lowest results of these parameters were recorded in control treatment for both control and rainfed experiments. The overall results of this study showed that among the levels of Aspirin, the application of treatment As2 both for control and rainfed experiment, i.e., 180 mg/L for control and 30 g/L for rainfed Aspirin, have positively impacted the growth and yield parameters of wheat and bought improvement in wheat production under plant stress environment.