Evaluation of yield, water productivity and some crop characteristics of safflower in different planting methods with Zn Nano chelate spraying under drought stress

Introduction Drought is the biggest factor limiting the production of agricultural products. One of the effective strategies for stress modification is the production and introduction of high yielding and drought tolerant cultivars in combination with low water management methods. Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) is promising due to spring and autumn types and deep roots as a plant resistant to salinity stress and drought stress. The balanced and optimal nutrition of different types of fertilizers, especially micronutrient fertilizers, which have low absorption potential in soil, can be effective in achieving a quality product and balancing environmental and non-living stresses. One of these micronutrient elements is zinc. Irrigation method and suitable planting method depending on the weather conditions in each region are important components for suitable establishment and high yield. With regard to the special conditions of soil and water due to limitations in humidity, low soil organic matter and high soil pH, use of maximum capacity of new plants such as safflower in the field cultivation pattern by applying the correct methods of agricultural management is inevitable. Therefore, with the aim of increasing the productivity, experimental comparing the method of planting and soluble zinc Nano chelate on grain yield and water use efficiency and some agricultural characteristics of safflower under drought stress. Materials and methods In order to evaluation of yield, water productivity and some crop characteristics of safflower in different planting methods with Zn Nano chelate spraying under drought stress a split split- A completely randomized complete block design with three replications was conducted at Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Station of Sistan in 2016-2017. Experimental factors including planting method in two levels (Flat and Furrow) as the main factor, irrigation regime at three levels (irrigation after 45% (control), 65% and 85% of admissible moisture depletion) as subsidiary factor, spraying of zinc Nano chalat in three levels (non spraying zinc, 0.5 and 1 g / liter spraying) as sub-subfactor. The irrigation time was determined according to the soil moisture curve using the Trim model of humidity (1TDR). At the end of the growing season, after leaving side effect from the start and end, 5 plants of the 2 middle rows of each plot were randomly selected and plant height and number of heads per plant were determined and by selecting head 10 random samples of each plot has also calculated the number of seeds per head. Seed 1000 weight was determined with a gravity of 0.01 g. In order to determine the grain yield with respect to the marginal effect, an area equal to 1.6 M2 (square meters) harvested. Water productivity was also calculated by dividing the grain yield per hectare into water consumption per hectare. Data were analyzed using MSTAT-C software and the mean comparison was performed based on Duncan multi-domain test at 5% probability level. Results The irrigation regime and spraying of zinc Nan ochelat was significantly affected by morphological traits, yield, yield components and water use efficiency. number of heads per plant, 1000- seed weight, grain yield and Water use efficiency was under the influence by the planting method. According to the mean comparisons, less irrigation significantly reduced and spraying of Zn Nano chelat increased the studied traits. Grain yield in Flat method increased 29% compared to Furrow method. Irrigation after 45% moisture depletion compared to irrigation after 85% moisture depletion of 61 percent increased grain yield but water use efficiency reduction by 11.5%. The spraying of zinc Nan ochelat with a concentration of 1 g / lit compared to non-spraying grain yield increased by 36 percent and increased water use efficiency by 37% and oil percentage by 12%. Conclusion Grain yield in flat planting method increased compared to furrow planting method. Irrigation after 45 percent moisture depletion compared to irrigation after 85 percent moisture depletion of increased grain yield but water productivity reduction. The spraying of Zinc Nano chelate compared to non-spraying increased grain yield and water productivity. According to the results of flat planting method with spraying of Nano chelate on 1 g. Li-1 under drought stress conditions, it can compensate and eliminate the stress-induced damage for economic production of safflower in Sistan weather conditions.