ASSESSING THE EFFECT OF COMPOST ON WHEAT UNDER SALINITY STRESS IN CLIMATIC ZONES OF VEHARI AND BAHAWALPUR PUNJAB PAKISTAN

The study aimed to monitor the effect of diverse ratios of compost on physiological and biochemical responses of wheat grown under salinity stress. A field trial was conducted at farmer’s field under natural saline soils in Chak No. 190 WB Vehari (3000’59ʺN, 7201´20ʺ E) and Chak 6/BC Bahawalpur. The trial was organized in a completely randomized block design. There were two salinity levels with and without the addition of compost @ 10 and 20 t ha-1. The two wheat varieties were tested in Faisalabad-2008 as tolerant while Sehar-2006 as sensitive. At harvest after 4 months, different parameters were recorded like shoot dry and fresh weight, relative water contents, membrane stability index, chlorophyll contents, potassium, sodium, nitrogen, phosphorous and biochemicals like SOD, POD and CAT from plant biomass. The data was analyzed using (Statistic 8.1) software. The experimental results indicated that the Faisalabad-2008 achieved the highest performance when cultivated in Vehari under challenging conditions of salinity stress in contrast Bahawalpur. The application of compost @ 20 tons per hectare further enhanced the growth and productivity. Sehar-2006 varieties showed significantly lower performance under the same conditions. This suggests that Faisalabad-2008 is more resilient and better suited for environments with high salinity, especially when supported with organic amendments like compost. These findings are very important for farmers in salinity-affected regions, as they highlight which crop variety and soil management practices are most effective for improving yields.