MORPHOLOGICAL AND YIELD RESPONSE OF SOYBEAN (Glycine max) TO FOLIAR APPLICATION OF ANTIOXIDANTS UNDER DROUGHT CONDITION

The morphology and yield of soybeans are greatly affected by drought stress. Exogenous application of antioxidants generally improves plant tolerance. This study aims to determine the effects of foliar applications of potassium, salicylic acid and ascorbic acid on the morphological and yield and response of soybean in terms of height (cm), fresh weight (g), grain weight (g), number of pods/plant, number of seeds/pods, pod length (cm), pod diameter (cm), stand count and computed yield at 14% moisture content on the driest months of the year (March to July). The study was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with five treatments in three replications. The treatments were: T0- Control (w/out irrigation), T1- tap water (1L), T2-potassium (10 g/1L), T3 - ascorbic acid (1000 mg/1L), and T4- salicylic acid (10 ml/1L). Growth of soybean plants treated with salicylic acid (10 ml/1l) were the tallest at 134. 73. Salicylic acid application also increased grain weight (219.99 g), number of pods/plant with (220), pod diameter (43.67 cm), and pod length (3.90 cm). Whereas, foliar application of potassium resulted to increased number of seeds/pod (3 seeds/pod), stand count (31 plants/1m2) and computed yield of 446.38 tons/ha at 14% moisture content. Generally, these suggest that either foliar application of salicylic acid or potassium may help to mitigate drought stress as exemplified by the yield and morphological response of soybean.