Growth-Regulating Activity of Brassinosteroid Compositions with Ferulic Acid on Spring Wheat Plants

The influence of steroid phytohormones (24-epibrassinolide and 24-epicastasterone), ferulic acid, and their mixtures at all stages of ontogenesis on growth, morphoformation, physiological and biochemical processes, and grain productivity of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was studied. Compounds and their mixtures (in an equimolar ratio) were used by spraying plants with solutions of substances in the optimal concentrations. The dynamics of changes in the content of steroid phytohormones at the early stages of plant development and ontogenesis have been studied. It was shown that treatment of plants by spraying with brassinosteroids or ferulic acid led to the activation of growth processes, the productivity of morphogenesis and reproduction, and an increase in the level of endogenous brassinosteroids, free radical oxidation, and pigments. The combined use of brassinosteroids and ferulic acid increased the effectiveness of their action, exhibiting a synergistic interaction in stimulating growth and metabolic processes and leading to an increase in yield, as well as an improvement in the grain quality.