Abstract
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the major cereal crops cultivated in Saudi Arabia. A pot experiment was performed to estimate the effect of drought stress on barley crop while natural plants extract were used as a management strategy. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with three repetitions. Pots grown barley were thinned to three plants per pot and allowed to grow undisturbed until the start of reproductive stage. Aqueous extract of flax liliy; Dianella ensata, burroweed; Ambrosia dumosa and drumstick tree; Moringa oleifera were used along with the control. Drought stress treatments were 40%, 60% and 100% field capacity. The application of Dianella ensata and Moringa oleifera produced double number of productive tillers and 30-38% recovery for number of spikelets per spike. Severe drought stress reported a substantial decrease (-31%) in number of grains per spike and 1000 grain weight while the application of Moringa oleifera has achieved 28% higher number of grains per spike and 24% higher 1000 grain weight. The application of Moringa oleifera also reported an increase of 28-35% in leaf area and chlorophyll content. On contrary to other traits, a positive correlation exists between the drought stress and root length.