The impact of zeolite in the planting medium and seed priming on some vegetative parameters of pistachio (Pistachio Vera L.) under drought stress conditions

With global warming and the reduction of groundwater, research on the effective use of available water for an important product such as pistachio in Rafsanjan, which is the hub of pistachio production, is essential.

To investigate the effect of priming and zeolite on some vegetative parameters of Pistachio Vera L. seeds under drought stress conditions, an experiment was conducted in a completely randomized factorial design with four treatments and four drought levels in three replications in greenhouse conditions The treatments included zeolite at three concentrations (0, 10, and 20%) and priming at four levels including control (no priming), polyethylene glycol (PEG) (250 mg/l), zinc (Zn) (300 mg/l) + polyethylene glycol (250 mg/l), and polyethylene glycol (500 mg/l). The parameters investigated in this study were stem diameter, fresh and dry weight of leaves, stems, and roots, and the number of healthy and damaged leaves.

showed that under the influence of applied treatments, the parameters in questions showed statistically significant differences compared to the control treatment. The data indicated the highest seedling height (17.4) and fresh and dry leaf weights were observed in the priming with PEG250 + Zn300 concentration, showing significant differences (17.4%, 100%, and 100%) compared to control. Zeolite also had a significant effect on reducing the number of damaged leaves. Moreover, the interaction effects of the applied treatments were not significant for any of the traits. Following these data, it can be concluded that PEG250 + Zn300 treatment and application of 10% zeolite significantly reduced drought stress (p<0.05).

In general, it is concluded that the combination of priming and zeolite or super-gravity factors can be effective in reducing the effect of drought stress or increasing the irrigation period of seedlings, but this requires more and more extensive research.