Drought is one of the stresses that affect the growth and yield of wheat. Silicon might alleviate this environmental stress and improve wheat yield. Based on this hypothesis, an experiment was conducted at the Soil Science Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, to unfold the effects of Silicon (Si) on wheat using rice husk ash (RHA) as a source of Si. The experiment was laid out in a Split Plot Design with irrigation in the main plots and RHA amendments in the subplots. The water management treatments were irrigated and rainfed, and four levels of RHA viz. RHA0-control, RHA1-1.25, RHA2-2.50 and RHA3-5.00 t/ha were accommodated in the subplots with three replications. All the experimental plots received recommended doses of nutrients (N, P, K and S). Results showed that the interaction effect of irrigation and RHA treatments significantly affected wheat yield and yield contributing characteristics. The treatment IR RHA3 (5.0 t/ha RHA with irrigation) produced the highest grain yield of 0.819 t/ha (32.5% increase over control) and straw yield of 1.55 t/ha (51% increase over control). The lowest grain yield and straw yield (0.62 and 1.16 t/ha, respectively) were found in control (RHA1). Under non-irrigated conditions, RHA amendment increased grain and straw yields up to 8.6 and 35.5%, respectively, compared to control. The nutrient and Si content in wheat was also markedly influenced by the interaction effect of irrigation and RHA amendments. Available soil Si content increased with increasing RHA amendment. So, the application of 5.0 t/ha RHA could be a preventive measure for growing wheat in water stress areas of Bangladesh.
Key words: Drought, Silicon, rice husk ash (RHA), wheat, yield.
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