Capparis decidua Edgew (Forssk.) Stem Extract Alleviates the Water Stress Perturbations in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) at Early Growth Stage

Water shortage is one of the major limiting factors of crop productivity worldwide. This study was planned to explore the impact of Capparis decidua stem extract on wheat varieties (FSD-2008, 12066 and 13348) under water stress condition. Water deficit condition negatively impacted the seedling germination, growth, photosynthetic pigments and ions uptake capacity. Water limited condition significantly (p≤0.05) increased time to attain 50% germination, lipid peroxidation, H2O2 and enhanced the antioxidant mechanism to overcome the oxidative stress. Different concentrations of C. decidua extract i.e. Not Soaking (NS), 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% were used for seed priming. It improved the negative effects of water stress and amended plant germination and growth by enhancing photosynthesis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging mechanism. The 20% and 30% C. decidua stem extract remained effective in mitigating the induced water stress effects in the tested cultivars. It was found that C. decidua stem extract significantly (p≤0.05) improved germination, growth Mg+2 and Fe+2 uptake in the wheat varieties under study. It is concluded that C. decidua phytoextract is an influential agent to ameliorate water stress effects in wheat at early growth stage.