Effect of foliar spraying with Pyridoxin (Vitamin B6) on improvement of some vegetative growth characteristics for two varieties of bread wheat

Wheat is a staple crop essential for global food security, yet its productivity in Iraq remains low compared to international levels. Although undernourishment has declined globally due to improved crop yields, challenges in Iraq persist due to limited use of high-yielding varieties and excessive reliance on chemical fertilizers. Attention in recent research has focused on the use of safe and environmentally friendly materials such as vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine), which may improve crop growth, productivity, and quality while reducing environmental and health risks. Therefore, a field experiment was carried out in the fields of the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences / University of Baghdad / Al-Jadriya for the two winter seasons 2023-24 and 2024-25, to find out the effect of spraying with vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) on some growth characteristics of two wheat cultivars. The experiment was conducted using a Randomised Complete Block Design (RCBD) with a split-plot arrangement and three replicates. The experiment included two factors, the main factor was the two cultivars (Bhooth 10 and Bangal). In contrast, the second factor included three concentrations of Pyridoxine, which are 1, 2 and 3 g/L, in addition to the control treatment (spraying with water only). The spraying was done in two stages (tillering and the beginning of flowering). The results showed that the cultivar Bhooth 10 was superior in most of the growth characteristics (number of tillers, dry weight, and crop growth rate), while the cultivar Bangal was superior in plant height (85.43 and 86.08 cm) leaf content of total chlorophyll (185.92 and187.55 µg/cm3) for the two seasons. The concentration of 3 g/L exceeded in height, several tillers, leaf content of total chlorophyll, while the concentration of 2 g/L exceeded in flag leaf area, dry weight at flowering, and crop growth rate.