Document Type : original papers
Authors
1
1Fiber Crops. Res. Dept., Field Crops Res. Inst. Agric. Res. Center, Giza, Egypt.
2
Agronomy Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11651, Egypt.
3
Crop Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Menoufia University, Egypt.
10.21608/mjppf.2025.412205.1080
Abstract
One of the biggest risks to food security in the context of climate change is drought stress. Flax crop predicted to suffer from drought, which will lower growth metrics, straw, seed, fiber yield, and fiber quality. It is essential to lessen the detrimental effects of drought stress on the productivity of the flax crop. The goal of the study was to determine how four flax cultivars under drought stress, with or without foliar application of drought-tolerant substances, performed in terms of straw, seed, fiber, and water productivity characteristics. The field experiments were conducted at the Agricultural Research Station in Gemmeiza, Gharbia Governorate, Egypt, during the winter seasons of 2020/21 and 2021/22. Irrigation regimes, flax cultivars, and their interaction significantly affected the straw, seed, fiber yields, water productivity, and most evaluated traits in both growing seasons. Drought treatments significantly reduced the yields of straw, seed, and fiber, as well as all assessed attributes, as compared to the 30-day treatment. Irrigation every 45 days, integrated with foliar spray of drought-tolerant substances, significantly increased the yields of straw, seed, and fiber, as well as all evaluated attributes, compared to irrigation every 45 days without foliar application in both growing seasons. The 45-day + KSi treatment often yielded the highest values of straw, seed, and fiber yields as well as all assessed qualities in both growing seasons when compared to other drought stress treatments. These findings demonstrated the beneficial effects and positive role of KSi treatment on the growth and development of flax plants during drought conditions, which saved water about 29.86% and 30.16% in the first and second seasons, respectively. The highest values were observed by the Giza 12 cultivar for straw yield and water productivity, by the Sakha 6 cultivar for seed yield, and by the Sakha 3 cultivar for fiber yield. Based on the results of the irrigation regimes × flax cultivars interaction and PCA, the Giza 12 cultivar for straw yield, the Sakha 6 cultivar for seed yield, and the Sakha 3 cultivar for fiber yield with KSi foliar application under drought conditions were superior compared with the other cultivars under other foliar application treatments in both growing seasons. These results shed insight into the potential of applying KSi as a successful strategy to increase flax's tolerance to the impacts of water stress in regions that are susceptible to drought.
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