Exploring the recuperative potential of brassinosteroids and nano-biochar on growth, physiology, and yield of wheat under drought stress

Drought stress as a result of rapidly changing climatic conditions has a direct negative impact on crop production especially wheat which is the 2nd staple food crop. To fulfill the nutritional demand under rapidly declining water resources, there is a dire need to adopt a precise, and efficient approach in the form of different amendments. In this regard, the present study investigated the impact of nano-biochar (NBC) and brassinosteroids (BR) in enhancing the growth and productivity of wheat under different drought stress conditions. The field study comprised different combinations of amendments (control, NBC, BR, and NBC+BR) under three irrigation levels (D-0, D-1 and D-2). Among different treatments, the synergistic approach (NBC+BR) resulted in the maximum increase in different growth and yield parameters under normal as well as drought stress conditions. With synergistic approach (NBC+BR), the maximum plant height (71.7 cm), spike length (17.1), number of fertile tillers m(-2) (410), no. of spikelets spike(-1) (19.1), no. of grains spike(-1) (37.9), 1000 grain weight (37 g), grain yield (4079 kg ha(-1)), biological yield (10,502 kg ha(-1)), harvest index (43.5). In the case of physiological parameters such as leaf area index, relative water contents, chlorophyll contents, and stomatal conductance were maximally improved with the combined application of NBC and BR. The same treatment caused an increase of 54, 10, and 7% in N, P, and K contents in grains, respectively compared to the control treatment. Similarly, the antioxidant response was enhanced in wheat plants under drought stress with the combined application of NBC and BR. In conclusion, the combined application of NBC and BR caused a significant increase in the growth, physiological and yield attributes of wheat under drought stress.