Abstract
Maize (Zea mays), is a plant of economic and nutritional interest, which is often confronted with unfavorable environmental conditions, including water stress. This phenomenon forces the plants to considerably reduce their production by disturbing their metabolism. Seeds of maize of the variety EV8728 were subjected to different doses of gamma radiation (100, 200 and 300 grays) in order to induce mutations in plants that could lead to resistance to water stress. Thus, plants from gamma irradiated seeds were used to evaluate the impact of water stress on leaf physiological parameters (leaf area, density and pore area of stomata and assimilatory pigments). Water stress had a depressive effect on all leaf parameters in maize plants. The degree of sensitivity or tolerance of the plants depends on the dose of irradiation and the intensity of stress applied. The increase in the level of water stress reduces the leaf surface and that of the stomata pores. This in turn increases the density of stomata. In addition, chlorophyll a was more sensitive to the effect of water stress than chlorophyll b. Key words: Maize mutants, water stress, gamma irradiation, leaves, stomata ostioles.
Highlights
Maize (Zea mays L.), a tropical annual herbaceous plant of the Poaceae family, is an important cereal crop with more diverse uses than other grains
Statistical analysis of the results showed a significant effect of the interaction between water stress and radiation dose on some of the agronomic parameters studied
The results relating to the different physiological variables of the leaves of corn plants of the EV8728 variety obtained from irradiated seeds were influenced by water stress and irradiation
Summary
Maize (Zea mays L.), a tropical annual herbaceous plant of the Poaceae family, is an important cereal crop with more diverse uses than other grains. Maize ranks third after wheat and rice in world cereal production. According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (Anonymous, 2014), production estimates and compared to the situation in neighboring countries, Côte d'Ivoire's maize sector seems to be growing relatively slowly. This observation is justified by the fact that its crop is confronted with numerous biotic (helminthosporiosis, streak, virus, rust, Striga, insects and rodents) and abiotic (water and mineral deficiency, soil degradation) constraints (Lobell et al, 2011; Baffour et al, 2021)
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