Impact of Hydrogel and Potassium Soil Amendments on Physiological Processes and Mineral Content of Fenugreek Under Variable Drought Conditions

The study was conducted in the Department of Biology / College of Education for Pure Sciences / University of Mosul , During the fall season to demonstrate the effect of exposing fenugreek plants Trigonella foenum-graecum L to different drought periods (10 ,20) day and reducing the negative effects of drought by treating the soil with different levels of potassium (0.1 and 0.15 ) g/kg soil and hydrogel (8 and 10) g/kg soil , The study showed that exposing fenugreek plants to two drought periods, especially the 20-day drought period, led to a significant decrease in the concentration of total chlorophyll and carotene in the leaf tissues of the fenugreek plant, reaching (0,338) and (0,115) mg/g wet weight, respectively, compared to the control treatment, While it was observed that treating the soil with hydrogel at levels (8) and (10) g/kg soil led to an increase in the concentration of total chlorophyll, while treatment with potassium at concentrations (0,1) and (0,15) g/kg soil led to an increase in the concentration of total chlorophyll, A significant increase in total chlorophyll concentration, which reached 0,405 and 0,419 mg/g fresh weight, respectively, On the contrary, it was observed that there was a significant increase in the percentage of evidence of damage in the leaf tissues of fenugreek plants exposed to the two periods of drought 10 and 20 day , reaching (29,044) and (32,472)% compared to the control treatment, while there was a significant decrease in the percentage of evidence of damage in the leaf tissues of plants growing in the treated soil, With the gel and potassium, especially at the two concentrations (10) gm/kg soil and (0,15) gm/kg soil, which amounted to (21,618) and (21,476)%, respectively, compared to plants not treated with hydrogel and potassium, Exposing the plants to periods of drought led to a significant decrease in With the concentration of both calcium and magnesium, however, treating the soil with levels of hydrogel and potassium led to a significant increase in the concentration of the two elements in the plant compared to the control treatment.