The Effect of Paclobutrazol on Physiological Characteristics of Bermuda Grass under Drought Stress

Grass is considered as one of the most important covering plants in designing green spaces. We aimed to assess the growth retarding effects of Paclobutrazol on several physiological characteristics of Bermuda grass under dry stress in the form of a randomized factorial design study with three repetitions. The treatments in this study were paclobutrazol at concentrations of 0, 25, 50, and 75 mg/l and drought stress at four levels (irrigation based on 100, 80, 60, and 40% of the field’s capacity). We found that grass under severe drought stress conditions (40% FC) and were treated with concentrations of 50 and 75 mg/l Paclobutrazol had the highest amount of proline. Grass under moderate drought stress (60% FC) and was treated with Paclobutrazol 50 mg/l had the highest amount of soluble carbohydrates. When using 75 mg/l Paclobutrazol resulted in increased chlorophyll in Bermuda grass. Grass that was irrigated under normal conditions (100% FC) and was treated with different concentrations of paclobutrazol had the highest relative water content. The highest ion leakage was seen in grass under severe drought stress (40% FC) and 0 mg Paclobutrazol. In conclusion, we suggest the use of 50 mg/l Paclobutrazol in order to reduced water consumption or enhancing the growth of grass under drought stress.