Arslan Haider, Ejaz Ahmad Waraich, Saddam Hussain, Muhammad Shahbaz
Drought is a major abiotic stressor having a detrimental effect on morphology and development of plants. Camelina is an important oilseed crop vital to the world's food security. The current research aimed to evaluate how corn‐cob‐based biodegradable superabsorbent polymers amendment might help the Camelina sativa L. to reduce the consequences of drought stress. The treatments of this study were: (a) camelina genotypes; G1 = 611 and G2 = 618, (b) drought stress (100% and 50% FC), and (c) corn‐cob‐based biodegradable superabsorbent polymers (CC‐BSP); (i) control, (ii) CC‐BSP‐0.125 g/kg soil, (iii) CC‐BSP‐0.25 g/kg soil, and (iv) CC‐BSP‐0.5 g/kg soil. A drought stress (50% FC) was imposed at vegetative stage. The findings of current study showed that 50% FC decreased the parameters of camelina genotypes such as shoot fresh weight and shoot length decreased up to (40% and 34.2%), total chlorophyll and carotenoids up to (22.7% and 37%) and (60.5% and 66.2%), while root length (RL) increased significantly up to (11.3% and 39.4%) in G1 and G2, respectively. The application of CC‐BSP reduced the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) and malondialdehyde (MDA) while increasing the activities of enzymatic antioxidants. Application of CC‐BSP 0.5 g to each pot caused maximum improvement in growth parameters such as fresh weight of shoot up to (48.5% and 52.5%), shoot dry weight up to (38.3% and 51.7%), length of shoot up to (37.1% and 39%), and overall performance of camelina genotypes under control and stress conditions. Among both, G2 performed better relative to G1. Furthermore, this research offers a thorough comprehension of the physiological processes underpinning the camelina ability under drought stress to survive by application of CC‐BSP. This will act as a guide for cellular research in the future.