Ameliorative effects of water deficit in rice by foliar application of Ascobien and Potassium Silicate

Greenhouse experiment was maintained at the Rice Research and Training Center (RRTC), Sakha, Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt, during the 2021 and 2022 rice seasons to explore the influence of the foliar application treatment on the behavior of the Sakha 108 Egyptian rice genotype as well as to study the role of this foliar treatment in ameliorating the harmful impacts of water deficit in rice. Irrigation water treatments include water deficit and normal irrigation conditions.. The foliar application treatments were: 1- control, 2- Ascobien, 3- potassium silicate, 4- lithovit, 5- ascobien + potassium silicate, 6- potassium silicate + Lithovit. Water stress depressed all-growth traits, grain yield, and its components, as well as grain quality and NPK content in rice grain. Combining potassium silicate + Lithovit foliar application gave the highest leaf area index, chlorophyll A and B, number of panicles/hill, full grains/panicle, unfilled grains/panicle, and 1000-grain weight, grain yield, hulling, milling and head, N, P, K, Zn, Fe and Mn content in milled rice grain compared to control under water deficit and normal irrigation conditions. Foliar application of potassium silicate + Lithovit improves plant physiological processes. Potassium silicate enhances carbohydrate synthesis, translocation, transformation, storage, and compartmentation by the plant, enhancing plant stress tolerance. Lithovit improves CO2 statuses inside the leaf intercellular, enhancing photosynthesis, nutrient uptake, and abiotic stress tolerance.