Study the effect of zeolite on mitigation of deficit irrigation stress and improve functions of hemp plant

One of ways to cope the drought stress is using tolerant plant and water preservative materials in the soil such as zeolite. Hemp is one of drug and oilseed plants.To evaluate the effect of zeolite in the modulation of deficit irrigation stress and improve the function and growth indices of Hemp, an experiment was conducted as split plot in a randomized completely block design with three replications at the research farm of Shahrekord university in 2014. The main factor including deficit irrigation stress in four levels (provide of 40, 60, 80 and 100% of water requirement) and the subplot was zeolite in three levels (0, 5 and 10 t/ha). The results showed that there was a difference in terms of trend of the Leaf Area Index (LAI), Leaf Area Duration (LAD), Biomass Duration (BMD), Crop Growth Rate (CGR) and Net Assimilation Rate (NAR) between levels of zeolite and irrigation regimes. Increasing the amount of irrigation water due to the presence of zeolite in the rhizosphere, increased the characteristics of LAI, LAD, BMD, CGR, and chlorophyll content (SPAD) on studied traits. Thus, according to zeolite role in setting the necessary conditions for the better growth of hemp, it seems that the use of 10 t.ha-1 zeolite is useful particularly in conditions of severe stress.