Impact evaluation of the superabsorbent polymer on the yield and some growth factors of green pea plant under drought stress conditions

In this research, the effect of superabsorbent polymer on the yield and some of the growth factors of green pea plant under the drought stress was investigated. The experimental factors included: irrigation treatments at two levels of 100% water requirement (I1) and 70% water requirement (I2) by the plant. The second factor included the levels of superabsorbent application which included three levels of control treatment (S0), potting soil with a weight percentage of 1 (S1) and potting soil with a weight percentage of 2 (S2). The third factor was the location of superabsorbent application which included its application at the upper 10 cm of potting soil (O), the area around the root length within the pot (M), and at the 10 cm lower end of the potting soil (U). According to the results, the largest amounts of root length, root dry weight, plant dry weight, grain dry weight and number of pods per plant were achieved when the irrigation water amount was equal to 70% of the plant water requirement (I2), the superabsorbent amount was equal to 1% of the potting soil (S1) and the superabsorbent was at the 10 cm lower end of the pod (U) and the largest amount of number of grains per pod occurred at I2S2U treatment and their differences were significant at 5% level compared to the control treatment. The presence of the superabsorbent at the surface and middle of the pot had not been much effective in providing water and nutrients for the plant.