Investigation of the symbiotic relationship between Serendipita indica and ZP684 hybrid cultivar of maize plant under a combined condition of root rot disease (Fusarium proliferatum) and drought stress

Abstract

Climate change is continuously exacerbating drought stress (DS), which damages important crops such as maize, especially under combined conditions of biotic and abiotic environmental stresses. This study investigated the effects of DS and Fusarium proliferatum pathogenicity (FPP) on ZP684 hybrid maize inoculated with an endophytic fungus Serendipita indica. Nineteen physiological plant parameters were measured under both individual and combined conditions. DS was simulated by reducing irrigation water from normal irrigation (NI) to 75 % (75-I), 50 % (50-I), and 25 % (25-I). The plant damage under combined stress conditions was higher than that under individual DS and FPP. The application of S. indica showed a significant improvement in morphophysiological parameters compared to non-inoculated plants under DS, FPP, and combined stress conditions. The enhancement of the morphophysiological parameters demonstrated the ability of S. indica to increase the biomass of hybrid maize plants. Additionally, the inoculation of S. indica resulted in an increase in chlorophyll content, indicating an improvement in photosynthesis in maize plants. Inoculated plants with S. indica also exhibited enhancements in the accumulation of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and proline dehydrogenase compared to non-inoculated plants. This observation underscores the ability of S. indica to mitigate oxidative stress in the maize ZP684 hybrid cultivar under DS, FPP, and combined stress conditions. Therefore, this research suggests the widespread application of S. indica as a suitable tolerance-inducing agent for the biological control of DS and FPP stresses on maize plants, even under combined conditions.