Adaptability of Moringa oleifera Lam. under different water holding capacities

Growth performance and enzymatic-antioxidant activities of Moringa oleifera were investigated under simultaneous effect of water availability and plant growth regulators. Plant growth regulators i.e., cytokinin (50 mg L-1), thiourea (5 mM), benzylamino purine (BAP @ 50 mgL(-1)), salicylic acid (50 mgL(-1)), hydrogen peroxide (120 mu M) and ascorbic acid (50 mg L-1) were exogenously applied to moringa plants at three water holding capacity levels, 100, 70, and 40% in a completely randomized design with three replications. A decrease in shoot length, leaf score and number of branches was recorded at 100 and 40% water holding capacity as the plants respond well at 70% water holding capacity. BAP, cytokinin and salicylic acid were found as effective plant growth regulators in improving drought tolerance in moringa plants even at 40% water holding capacity. On the basis of these findings, moringa can be suggested to cultivate as a fodder crop under water deficit conditions and its tolerance can be further improved by foliar application of benzyl amino purine and ascorbic acid. (C) 2019 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.