Effects of Drought Stress and Foliar Application of Ascorbic acid, Salicylic acid, Methanol and Post-Harvest Storage on Seed Yield and Seed Vigor of Hyola401 Rapeseed Cultivar

To investigate the effect of drought stress and foliar application of ascorbic acid, salicylic acid and methanol, and post-harvest seed deterioration, two separate experiments were carried out as split plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications on maternal plants in field conditions and a factorial based on completely randomized design considering by using seed under storage conditions. The main plots were consisted of three irrigation levels, irrigation after 60 mm evaporation from basin, considered as control treatment (optimum irrigation), cessation of irrigation at flowering and silique stages, and sub plots consisted of 10 levels of foliar application, (100, 200, 300 mg.lit-1 ascorbic acid, 100, 200, 300 μmol salicylic acid, 10, 20, 30 vol% methanol and the foliar application with distilled water as control treatment). Seeds obtained of maternal plant were evaluated under no-storage (control) and storage at 40°C for one month. The results showed that foliar application of ascorbic acid (300 mg.lit-1) increased seed yield by 29% under optimum irrigation as compared with non foliar application under the same irrigation condition. Cutting off irrigation of maternal plant decreased radical and plumule weights under both no-storage and one-month storage conditions. The maximum germination percentage belonged to foliar application of ascorbic acid (300 mg.lit-1) under optimum irrigation condition at both no-storage one-month stored seed. The minimum germination percentage belonged to no use of growth regulators application and cessation irrigation at flowering stage. Maternal plants which sprayed with ascorbic acid contained the highest seed weight vigor index at all irrigation treatments.