Effects of supplementary irrigation and nano iron oxide on growth indices, radiation absorption and yield of wheat under rainfed condition

Several strategies have been developed in order to decrease water limitation effects under rain fed condition on plant growth. Among them, use of supplementary irrigation and nano iron oxide play a very important role on yield improvement. So, in order to study the effects of supplementary irrigation and nano iron oxide on growth indices, radiation absorption and yield of wheat under rain fed condition, a factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with three replications in Agricultural Research Station of Ardabil in 2016. Factors of experiment were included irrigation in three levels (no irrigation as rain fed, supplementary irrigation at heading stage or according with 45 BBCH code, supplementary irrigation at booting stage or according with 61 BBCH code), foliar application of nano iron oxide in four levels (without nano iron oxide as control, foliar application of 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 g L-1). The results showed that 0.9 g L-1 nano iron oxide application and supplementary irrigation at booting stage was caused the maximum of leaf area index, percentage of light absorbed, net assimilation rate, crop growth rate, relative growth rate and total dry matter compared to non-application of nano iron oxide under rain fed condition. Also, foliar application of 0.9 g L-1 nano iron oxide and supplementary irrigation at booting stage increased grain yield by 38.43% compared to no application of nano iron oxide under rain fed condition. Generally, it seems that application of supplementary irrigation and nano iron oxide can be considered as appropriate management factors for increasing grain yield under water limitation conditions.