Global food security is being severely affected by rapid increase in population and drastic climate change. With the changing climate, drought stress has become the most important limiting factor for sustainable production of several important agricultural crops, including wheat. Gradual rise in temperature and reduced precipitations are likely to cause frequent onset of droughts around the world.Therefore, alleviation of drought stress in crop plants has become an essential requirement to meet the increasing food demand. The present study explored the role of foliar application of Moringa leaf extract (MLE) in conferring drought tolerance in wheat during the anthesis stage. The results showed that MLE treatment improved the concentration of the macro-(K, Ca) and micronutrients (Cu, Fe, Na, Mn, Zn, Si) in ag-leaves of wheat under non-stressed conditions and also maintained their concentrations under drought stress. The micro-nutrients (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn) being the co-factors of the enzymes also stimulated the antioxidant enzyme activities, eventually leading to signi cant reduction in the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulations under drought stress. Furthermore, micronutrients played a crucial role in osmoregulation and sustainable plant growth under drought stress.Overall, the study provided insights into the functional role of micronutrients in improving drought tolerance and also indicated the potential to commercialize MLE as an effective bio-stimulant for sustainable agriculture in drought prone regions.

Global food security is being severely affected by rapid increase in population and drastic climate change. With the changing climate, drought stress has become the most important limiting factor for sustainable production of several important agricultural crops, including wheat. Gradual rise in temperature and reduced precipitations are likely to cause frequent onset of droughts around the world. Therefore, alleviation of drought stress in crop plants has become an essential requirement to meet the increasing food demand. The present study explored the role of foliar application of Moringa leaf extract (MLE) in conferring drought tolerance in wheat during the anthesis stage. The results showed that MLE treatment improved the concentration of the macro- (K, Ca) and micronutrients (Cu, Fe, Na, Mn, Zn, Si) in flag-leaves of wheat under non-stressed conditions and also maintained their concentrations under drought stress. The micro-nutrients (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn) being the co-factors of the enzymes also stimulated the antioxidant enzyme activities, eventually leading to significant reduction in the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulations under drought stress. Furthermore, micronutrients played a crucial role in osmoregulation and sustainable plant growth under drought stress. Overall, the study provided insights into the functional role of micronutrients in improving drought tolerance and also indicated the potential to commercialize MLE as an effective bio-stimulant for sustainable agriculture in drought prone regions.