Enhancing Drought Resistance in Spring Wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> L.) Through Chelated Zinc Seed Treatment: An Experimental Study

Climate change-induced drought is a significant threat to global food security, particularly affecting wheat yields. Despite various strategies to enhance drought resistance in crops, the effectiveness of chelated Zinc (Zn) as a seed treatment agent remains underexplored, especially in the early stages of wheat ontogenesis. This study aims to fill this gap by evaluating the effectiveness of zinc as a seed treatment agent for drought resistance improvement in wheat seed varieties in the initial stages of development. The experimental setup involved treating seeds of seven spring wheat varieties with chelated Zn at concentrations of 10, 15, and 20 mg/L. Germination rates, shoot and root development, and various stability indices were measured under both natural and simulated drought conditions. Studies of seed germination showed a significant increase in germination, lengthening of the shoot and roots, and an increase in the area and mass of the shoot and the angle of appearance of roots when using chelated forms of zinc with a dose of 15 mg/L compared with other variants of the experiment under natural conditions and drought stress conditions. When zinc was used in stressful drought conditions, wheat genotypes stimulated intensive growth and development of root mass rather than the vegetative mass of wheat seedlings, that is, the root-to-shoot ratio increased compared to the control variant. Treatment of spring soft wheat variety seeds with a chelated form of zinc in a dose of 15 mg/L promoted the full growth and development of wheat seedlings and increased drought resistance (in terms of seedling viability stability index, plant height stability index, plant mass stability index, plant area stability index, root length stability index, root mass stability index, root number stability index, etc.,).