Foliar application of urea and potassium chloride minimizes terminal moisture stress in lentil (Lens culinaris L.) crop

Soil moisture stress in lentil (Lens culinaris L.) cultivated in rice (Oryza sativa L.) fallows of Tripura (50 m above msl), India, is one of the issues related to low productivity. Effects of foliar feeding of lentil with urea and potassium chloride KCI @ 2% each, singly or in combination either at 50% flowering, 50% podding or both at 50% flowering + 50% pod formation stages under moisture stress condition were investigated. The key physiological parameters viz. chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll content, leaf relative water content (LRWC), excised leaf water loss (ELWL) and yield attributes of lentil were measured. There were significant (p <0.05) increases in chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll content at 50% flowering and 50% pod formation stage in plants treated either with 2% KCl alone or in combination with 2% urea as compared to those under control and 2% urea alone. Further, LRWC and ELWL were the highest (83%) and lowest (0.7%) under combined application of two agro chemicals, respectively. Significant (p< 0.05) increases in plant height, number of branches per plant, numbers of pods per plant and biomass as well as seed yield were also observed with combined foliar application of agrochemicals in comparison to those under control. The highest LRWC and lowest ELWL were recorded in case of foliar spray at 50% flowering + 50% pod formation as compared to either 50% flowering or 50% pod formation stage alone. Foliar application of both agro-chemicals mitigates the terminal moisture stresses especially in underutilized rice-fallow lands for successful cultivation of rabi crops like lentil.