Effect of signaling molecules on different morphological, physiological, biochemical and yield attributes of groundnut under water stress

In the current era of climate change, water stress has become a serious threat to groundnut and has detrimental effects on crop productivity. A field experiment was conducted with ‘Narayani’ variety, where plants were treated with four different chemicals such as ascorbic acid, salicylic acid, hydrogen peroxide and α-tocopherol @ 200 ppm at 40 and 60 days after sowing (DAS) under water stress. Several morphological, physiological and biochemical parameters were studied. Based on the results for proline content, SOD and catalase activity, leaf area, chlorophyll fluorescence, leaf and pod dry weight and various yield attributes, it was observed that plants treated with salicylic acid at 60 DAS (S4) performed best under water stress. Salicylic acid (S3) increased the leaf and root dry weight at 40 DAS, stem dry weight at 60 DAS and total dry weight at 40 and 60 DAS. H2O2 (S5) significantly increased stem and pod dry weight, chlorophyll fluorescence at 40 DAS, number of branches and net photosynthetic rate at 40 and 60 DAS. α-tocopherol (S7) increased plant height at 40 DAS and reduced membrane injury index at 40 and 60 DAS. Ascorbic acid (S1) increased the leaf water potential at 40 and 60 DAS. Overall, this study showed that the foliar applications of salicylic acid at 60 DAS (S4) most effectively enhanced the groundnut yield under water stress.