CHANGES IN MACRO AND MICRO PLANT NUTRIENTS OF SUNFLOWER (Helianthus annuus L.) UNDER DROUGHT STRESS

Determination of the ability to leverage of plants from nutrients found in the soil in irrigation and dry conditions contributes to the work done. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of drought stress on macro and micro plant nutrients of the leaves of three sunflower genotypes (Tarsan, Sanbro and TR-3080) at 30% (drought stress) and 60% (well-watered) irrigation from soil water capacity. Stress treatment where starting with emergence until R1 stage (bud visible) in pods under controlled conditions of greenhouse. Drought stress significantly affected by changing P, K, Mg, Ca, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Na contents of sunflower leaves. The results of our study under conditions of drought stress indicating that there were significantly differences among the all sunflower cultivars in terms of plant nutrients concentrations response to drought stress. Leaf P, Mg and Cu contents tend to decrease in the leaves of all sunflower genotypes under drought stress. Overall, on the basis of percent reduction consistently in accumulation plant nutrients in leaves, Sanbro cv. showed minimum reduction of percentage among the others under drought stress condition. However, differences in macro and micro nutrients used among all sunflower cultivars may also be related to differences in photosynthetic capacity under drought stress condition. It could also be confirmed that measuring macro and micro nutrients of leaves can be used to selection criterion for developing sunflower drought tolerance genotypes.