SEED ACTIVATION EFFECT ON THE WHEAT GROWTH AND YIELD COMPONENTS.

The applicable study assessed the impact of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars and cytokinin (benzyl adenine) seed soaking on grain vitality, growth, and yield-related traits. The experiment materialized in the winter of 2022–2023 at the Al-Qasim Green University, Babylon, Iraq, laid out in a randomized complete block design with two factors. The first factor was cytokinin with three levels (100, 200, and 300 mg L-1), while the second factor was the four wheat cultivars (IPA 99, Bohuth 22, Babylon 113, and Mawadah). The wheat cultivar IPA 99 excelled in grains per spike (57.50) and biological yield (17.95 t ha-1), while the cultivar Mawadah stood out in spike m² (364.2), 1000-seed weight (46.87 mg) and grain yield (7.40 t ha-1). The cytokinin activation treatments varied significantly, and 200 mg L-1 treatment led to spike count (359.7), grain yield (7.20 t ha-1), and biological yield (18.06 t ha-1). The cytokinin (300 mg L-1) excelled in 1000-seed weight (47.20 mg). In their interaction, the cultivar Mawadah with cytokinin (200 mg L-1) exhibited the highest 1000-grain weight (51.38 mg) and grain yield (8.80 t ha-1). In conclusion, the study highlights the substantial influence of cytokinin treatments and wheat cultivars on key growth and yield parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]