Integrated Nutrient Management and Salicylic Acid Boost Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) Yield under Deficit Moisture Stress at Different Critical Stages

Aims: A field study was conducted to quantify the effect of moisture deficit stress at different critical stages of quinoa and different mitigation approaches were adopted in order to alleviate moisture deficit stress.

Study Design: The experiment was designed in a split-plot design comprising six main plots (water management) and four subplots (stress mitigation approaches). The treatments in main plots viz., cut-off irrigation at branching (M1), at ear formation (M2), flowering (M3), grain filling (M4) stages, irrigating at all four stages (M5) and irrigating as and when required (M6), and subplot treatments viz., soil test-based fertiliser recommendation (STBFR) (S1), STBFR + Salicylic acid spray at 100 ppm (S2), STBFR + rice straw mulching (S3) and integrated nutrient management (S4) were tested.

Place and Duration of Study: The experiment was conducted at the Instructional Farm, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar during Rabi 2021-22.

Methodology: Moisture deficit stress was imposed by withholding irrigation water and not irrigating in the defined period. The treatments in the subplots were imposed as per the schedule.

Results: The lowest leaf area index was recorded when irrigation was withheld at the branching stage (0.61) which was statistically similar to M2 (no irrigation at the ear formation stage) with an average leaf area index of 0.64. Similarly, plants under integrated nutrient management practices (S4) recorded a significantly higher leaf area index (0.92) which was statistically at par with S2 (STFBR + Salicylic acid spray) which was 0.87. The reduction in the TCC was the maximum when stress was applied at the branching and ear formation stage compared to the flowering and grain filling stage. The increment in grain yield by following INM (S4) and STBFR+SA (S2) under drought stress and irrigated control was 23.6% and 17.6%, respectively over fully inorganic nutrient management (S1).

Conclusion: The result indicated that the branching stage is the most critical stage for irrigation in quinoa and integrated nutrient management could be the best approach under moisture deficit stress in quinoa among the other treatments.