Effect of foliar application of Cycocel and some micronutrients on activity of antioxidant enzymes of Triticum aestivum under drought stress

This study aimed to investigate the effect of foliar application of Cycocel and micronutrients of iron and zinc on wheat yield and physiological traits under drought stress during the crop years of 2017-18 and 2018-19. The experiment was performed as a split factorial in a randomized complete block design in three replications. In this experiment, irrigation at two levels (I1: regular irrigation and I2: cut off irrigation at the beginning of the reproductive stage) was considered the main factor. Also, Cycocell at two levels (C1: non-consumption and C2: Cycocell consumption of 0.5 l.ha-1) and foliar application of micronutrients at four levels (F1: pure water, F2: foliar application of iron, F3: foliar application of zinc, and F4: foliar application of iron + zinc (each in a ratio of 3 per thousand)) were considered sub-factors in factorial. The results showed that under normal irrigation conditions, both in terms of application of Cycocell and non-application, the application of iron + zinc had the lowest amount of ascorbate peroxidase and catalase. Under water stress conditions and non-application of Cycocel, the concentration of ascorbate peroxidase and catalase decreased significantly with the consumption of micronutrients, but their concentration increased with the consumption of micronutrients and Cycocel. In general, foliar application of Cycocel and iron + zinc under stress reduced the concentration of antioxidant enzymes.