Optimizing irrigation and salicylic acid strategies to enhance drought resilience and water productivity in linseed
M Singh·Ali Salem·Sandeep Manuja·Sakshi Goyat·Sandeep Gawdiya·Deepak Loura·Mohamed A. Mattar·Gurudev Singh
Introduction Drought stress is a primary constraint on linseed ( Linum usitatissimum L.) productivity, impairing plant growth and disrupting key physiological processes. While adequate soil moisture can alleviate such stress, the crop is frequently exposed to water deficits during critical growth stages under field conditions. Salicylic acid (SA) is increasingly recognized as an effective foliar agent for mitigating drought effects through improved chlorophyll retention, relative water content (