The Effect of Irrigation Water Quality and Application of Silicon, Nano Silicon, and Super Absorbent Polymer on Some Physiological Responses of Leaves and Saffron Yield

To study the effect of irrigation water quality and application of silicon, nano silicon, and superabsorbent polymer on some physiological responses of leaves and Saffron yield ( Crocus sativus L.), experiment was conducted as split plots in a complete randomized block design, in three replications and three cropping years in a farm located in Zia-ud-din section of Torbat-e Heydariyeh city. The main factor of irrigation water quality in two levels (e.g. water with electrical conductivity of 1.96 dS /m was considered as control and water with an electrical conductivity of 6 dS /m) and sub-factor of application of silicon and superabsorbent in six levels, (e.g. non-consumption as a control, silicon, nano silicon each with a concentration of 1.5 per thousand, superabsorbent (0.4 g / kg dry weight of soil), silicon with superabsorbent and nano silicon with superabsorbent were also considered. The results showed that Salinity increased leaf Na + and decreased K + . While the use of silicon and superabsorbent, owing to the maintenance of the stability of cell membranes, significantly decreased leaf Na + content under stress and increased K + . Consumption of silicon and superabsorbent reduced proline, soluble sugar and ion leakage; besides, it increased leaf chlorophyll in salinity conditions. Compared to the first year, Consumption of nano silicon with superabsorbent in salinity conditions, caused an increase of 46.8% and 54.3% in the yield of Saffron flowers and stigmas in the second year respectively, and also caused an increase of 60.1% and 57.8% in flower and stigma yield in the third year compared to the second year.