Abstract

                                Tomato is adapted to a wide range of climatic conditions but most sensitiveto water stress, especially at the flowering stage, causing drastic yieldreduction. In the present study, a pot culture experiment was conductedto evaluate the efficacy of naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and salicylic acid(SA) nanoformulations against drought effects in tomato during floweringstage. The drought was imposed at 50% flowering by withholding irrigation,and foliar application of nanoformulations was given when the reductionin soil moisture reaches 20 percent. The treatments include NAA (20 & 40ppm), salicylic acid (50 & 100 ppm), and NAA (20 ppm) + salicylic acid (50ppm) as straight and nanoformulations along with a control. Observationsdone on first, second and third day after foliar application revealed asignificant increase in chlorophyll index, relative water content, membranestability index, and chlorophyll stability index due to the application ofnanoformulation of NAA + salicylic acid in the plants under drought. Theresults indicated the efficacy of nanoformulation of NAA + salicylic acid inameliorating the deteriorative effects of drought in tomato by improving thephysiological traits compared to the application of the NAA and salicylic acidas straight formulations.

Key words : Tomato; Drought; Nanoformulations; NAA; Salicylic acid