
2Agriculture Research Institute Tandojam, Pakistan
3College of Agronomy & Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, China
T1 = 2 irrigations (30 and 45 DAS)
T2 = 3 irrigations (30, 45 and 60 DAS)
T3 = 4 irrigations (30, 45, 60 and 75 DAS)
T4 = 5 irrigations (30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 DAS)
Observations recorded
- Days to 75% flowering
- Days to 90% maturity
- Plant height (cm)
- Stem girth (cm)
- Head diameter (cm)
- Seeds head-1
- Seed index (1000 seed weight, g)
- Seed yield (kg ha-1)
Days to 75% flowering: The number of days from sowing to completion of 75 % flowering was recorded for the crop in each plot and average was calculated.
The effect of water stress by means of irrigation scheduling on the number of days taken by sunflower crop to complete 75% flowering was examined and the results are presented in Figure 1. Sunflower crop receiving five irrigations (30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 DAS) took maximum number of days (79.00) to 75% flowering, while the crop receiving four irrigations (30, 45, 60 and 75 DAS) completed 75% flowering in 74.67 days. Similarly, the sunflower crop given three irrigations (30, 45 and 60 DAS) took 68.67 days to flowering; while minimum number of days (61.33) to 75% flowering was observed in sunflower crop receiving only two irrigations (30 and 45 DAS). This indicates that with increasing the number of irrigations, and continuing the water supply up to the later crop stages prolonged the period between sowing and 75% flowering. On the other hand, reducing the number of irrigations and discontinuing the water supply to the crop at early stages resulted in physiological changes in plant and earliness in completion of 75% flowering was observed. The DMRT suggested a linear difference among all the treatment means (P < 0.01). The coefficient of variation per plot (1.76%) suggested that the experimental soil was homogenous in fertility, so far the days to 75% flowering is concerned.
The effect of water stress on the number of days taken by the crop to 90% maturity was investigated and the results are shown in Figure 2. The analysis of variance demonstrated that the sunflower crop receiving five irrigations (30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 DAS) took maximum number of days (120.67) to 90% maturity, while the crop receiving four irrigations (30, 45, 60 and 75 DAS) completed 90% maturity in 114.67 days. Similarly, the sunflower crop given three irrigations (30, 45 and 60 DAS) took 101.00 days to 90% maturity; while minimum number of days (93.00) to 90% maturity was noted in sunflower crop receiving only two irrigations (30 and 45 DAS). The DMRT suggested a linear difference among all the treatment means (P < 0.01). The results suggested that with increasing the number of irrigations, and continuing the water supply up to the later crop stages prolonged the period between sowing and 90% maturity. On the other hand, curtailing the irrigation number and discontinuing the crop irrigation at early stages led the crop to physiological stress and earliness in completion of 90% maturity was noted. The coefficient of variation per plot (1.38%) suggested that the experimental soil responded homogenously to sunflower crop in all the plots for days to 90% maturity.
The effect of water stress on the plant height of sunflower was evaluated and the results are presented in Figure 3. The analysis of variance illustrated a significant (P < 0.05) effect of number of irrigations on the plant height of sunflower. The results indicated that the sunflower crop irrigated five times (30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 DAS) produced the plants of maximum height on average (186.67 cm) and by decreasing the number of irrigations to four (30, 45, 60 and 75 DAS), the plant height followed an adverse direction (164.33 cm). Similarly, The sunflower crop irrigated three times (30, 45 and 60 DAS) resulted in average plant height of 138.67 cm; whereas the lowest plant height of 129.00 cm was recorded in sunflower crop irrigated two times throughout the growing season (30 and 45 DAS). The DMRT suggested a linear difference among all the treatment means (P < 0.01). It was noted that under 2, 3 and 4 irrigations (at 15 days interval) at different scheduling the sunflower crop was under-irrigated, while five irrigations proved to be necessary for achieving desired plant height. On the other hand, discontinuity of irrigation water to sunflower at early stage resulted in severe disadvantage for plant growth that caused poor plant height. The coefficient of variation per plot (2.50%) indicated that the experimental soil was homogenous in all the experimental plots and no uneven variation in plant height was observed.
The effect of water stress on the stem girth of sunflower was investigated and the data to this effect are presented in Figure 4. The analysis of variance suggested a significant (P < 0.05) effect of number of irrigations on the stem girth of sunflower. The sunflower crop given five irrigations (30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 DAS) resulted in thicker stems as compared to those under water stress and maximum stem girth (5.59 cm) while under reduced number of irrigations to four (30, 45, 60 and 75 DAS), the stem girth showed a simultaneous decrease (4.94 cm). The sunflower crop irrigated three times (30, 45 and 60 DAS) resulted in average stem girth of 4.29 cm; while the lowest stem girth of 3.59 cm was recorded in sunflower crop irrigated two times (30 and 45 DAS) throughout the growing season. The DMRT suggested a linear significance in stem girth difference among all the treatment means (P < 0.01). The results suggested that under 2, 3 and 4 irrigations (at 15 days interval) the sunflower crop was under stress, while under five irrigations they showed adequacy of water for maximum stem girth. On the other hand, termination of irrigation water to sunflower at early stage showed severe negative effects on stem girth. The coefficient of variation per plot (0.84%) suggested that the experimental soil was homogenous; and in all the experimental plots the experimental plants received opportunity to develop stem girth uniformly.
The head diameter of sunflower in response to different number of irrigations was measured and the results for this trait are shown in Figure 5. Analysis of variance validated a significant (P < 0.05) effect of number of irrigations on the head diameter of sunflower. The sunflower crop given five irrigations (30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 DAS) resulted in bigger heads (27.69 cm) as compared to those under water stress. The sunflower crop receiving four irrigations (30, 45, 60 and 75 DAS) resulted in a decreased head diameter (26.39 cm). The sunflower crop that received three irrigations (30, 45 and 60 DAS) resulted in average head diameter of 24.23 cm; while the minimum head diameter of 22.10 cm was observed fewer than two irrigations (30 and 45 DAS) throughout the sunflower growing season. The DMRT suggested that the differences in head diameter in plots given five and four irrigations were statistically non-significant (P > 0.05), while significant (P < 0.05) when compared with rest of the treatments. The results suggested that in case of 2 and 3 irrigations (at 15 days interval) the sunflower crop was under stress, while the differences in head diameter indicated that four irrigations would be adequate to be fulfilling the crop water requirement. However, discontinuation of irrigation after 45 days or 60 DAS resulted in marked reduction in head diameter. The coefficient of variation per plot (3.50%) indicated that the experimental soil was homogenous and no uneven variation in head diameter was associated with the treatments.
The effect of different irrigations regimes on the number of seeds head-1 of sunflower was examined and the results for this parameter are shown in Fig. 6. The analysis of variance suggested that the number of seeds head-1 in sunflower was significantly (P < 0.05) affected by the number of irrigations. The crop receiving five irrigations (30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 DAS) resulted in maximum number of seeds (1913.33) as compared to rest of the irrigation regimes. The sunflower crop receiving four irrigations (30, 45, 60 and 75 DAS) resulted in a minor decrease in the number of seeds (1855.67) head-1. The crop that received three irrigations (30, 45 and 60 DAS) suffered a marked reduction in the number of seeds (1362.33) head-1; while the lowest number of seeds (1065.00) head-1 was observed under two irrigations (30 and 45 DAS). The DMRT suggested that the differences in number of seeds head-1 under five and four irrigations were statistically non-significant (P > 0.05), while significant (P < 0.05) when compared with rest of the irrigation regimes. It was further observed, that the sunflower crop was under water stress when given 2 and 3 irrigations (at 15 days interval), while results clearly suggested 4 irrigations as an optimum irrigation regime at 15 days interval, being 1st irrigation after 30 days of sowing. However, termination of irrigation after 45 days or 60 DAS resulted in severe adverse effects on number of seeds head-1. The coefficient of variation per plot (6.38%) showed that the experimental soil was homogenous and no uneven variation for this trait was observed.
The seed index of sunflower in response to different irrigation regimes was recorded on the basis of 1000 seeds weight and the results are presented in Figure 7. The crop given five irrigations (30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 DAS) resulted in bigger heads (78.91g) as compared to those under water stress. The sunflower crop receiving four irrigations (30, 45, 60 and 75 DAS) resulted in a nominal decrease in seed index (76.38g). The crop receiving three irrigations (30, 45 and 60 DAS) resulted in average seed index of 67.11g; while the minimum seed index of 60.03g was noted in case of two irrigations (30 and 45 DAS). The DMRT suggested that the differences in seed index in plots given five and four irrigations were statistically non-significant (P > 0.05), while significant (P < 0.05) when compared with rest of the irrigation regimes. The results showed that in case of 2 and 3 irrigations (at 15 days interval) the sunflower crop was under stress, while the differences in seed index between four and five irrigations indicated that four irrigations would be optimum for achieving desired results for seed index. It was also observed that termination of irrigation application after 45 or 60 days of sowing caused a marked reduction in seed index. The coefficient of variation per plot (3.17%) indicated that the experimental soil was homogenous.
The effect of different irrigations regimes on the seed yield ha-1 of sunflower was examined and the results for this parameter are presented in Figure 8. The analysis of variance indicated that the seed yield ha-1 in sunflower was significantly (P < 0.05) affected by the number of irrigations. The crop receiving five irrigations (30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 DAS) resulted in maximum seed yield (2200 kg ha-1), while the crop receiving four irrigations (30, 45, 60 and 75 DAS) resulted in a slight decrease in seed yield (2032 kg ha-1) over 5 irrigations. The crop receiving three irrigations (30, 45 and 60 DAS) suffered a marked reduction in seed yield (1472.33 kg ha-1); while the lowest seed yield (960.33 kg ha-1) was noted under two irrigations (30 and 45 DAS). The DMRT suggested that the differences in seed yield ha-1 under five and four irrigations were statistically non-significant (P > 0.05), while significant (P < 0.05) when compared with rest of the irrigation scheduling. The results further showed that the sunflower crop was under water stress when given 2 and 3 irrigations (at 15 days interval) were applied, while results 4 irrigations proved to be an optimum irrigation regime. The stoppage of irrigation application after 45 days or 60 DAS resulted in severe negative effects on seed yield ha-1. The coefficient of variation per plot (6.71%) showed that the experimental soil was homogenous and no uneven variation for this trait was observed.
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