Effects of seed priming with ascorbic acid on yield and some physiological traits of soybean under normal and interrupted irrigation conditions

In order to study the effects of seed priming with ascorbic acid (AsA) on agronomic traits of two soybean cultivars under normal irrigation and interrupted irrigation at flowering stage, this experiment was carried out in a split-plot factorial arrangement with randomized complete block design in three replications at the research farm of agriculture faculty, Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj Branch in 2013. The main factor was irrigation with two levels of full irrigation and interrupted irrigation at flowering stage. The factorial combination of cultivar and seed priming with AsA was assigned in sub-plots. Two soybean cultivars included Hobbit and L17 and seed priming treatments included: 0 (Control or non-priming), 50, 100 and 150 mg/L AsA. Results showed that two soybean cultivars differently responded to seed priming with AsA under full irrigation and interrupted irrigation (drought stress). Hobbit cultivar positively responded to priming under stress conditions. AsA application in seed priming resulted in increasing of seed yield and seed oil yield in comparison with control (non-priming), whereas L17 cultivar had no response to seed priming in stress conditions. On the other hand in normal irrigation conditions two cultivars showed a reverse reaction to seed priming so that L17 cultivar positively responded to priming under full irrigation conditions especially the concentration of 150 mg/L AsA expressively increased seed yield of this cultivar.