Abstract
Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most important cereal crops cultivated around the world. Waterlogging stress is a major production constraint of maize production in rain-fed agricultural systems. The main objective of this experiment was to investigate the effect of continuous waterlogging on morphological and biochemical traits of maize genotypes at the vegetative stage. Ten maize genotypes were treated under no waterlogging (control) and continuous waterlogging of five centimeters depth for 10 days. The treatments were applied to the plants at their 45 days of age. Visual leaf injury scores from Leaf 4 (youngest leaf is the reference point) to Leaf 7 separated tolerant and susceptible genotypes. Waterlogging stress significantly reduced the total number of live leaves and chlorophyll content in leaf tissues in susceptible genotypes. The anatomical study revealed that tolerant maize genotypes produce a large number of aerenchyma cells under waterlogging stress compared to susceptible genotypes. The enzymatic activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and peroxidase (POD) exhibited a greater increase in tolerant genotypes than susceptible genotypes whereas the contents of reactive oxygen species (H2O2) greatly increased in susceptible genotypes than tolerant genotypes under waterlogging stress compared to control. Principal component 2 (PC2) indicated that increasing plant height in the genotypes BHM-14, BHM-13 and BHM-9 was associated with waterlogging tolerance. The findings of this experiment will add value to maize breeding to screen out maize genotypes for waterlogging stress tolerance.
Highlights
Maize (Zea mays L.) is called the queen of the cereals due to its high productivity, wider adaptability in the various agroecological regions and high genetic potential compared to other cereals (Mahesh et al, 2013)
This study investigated traits related to waterlogging tolerance and their response due to treatment at the vegetative stage
Plant height was increased in BHM-14 and BHM-9 compared to control under waterlogging conditions
Summary
Maize (Zea mays L.) is called the queen of the cereals due to its high productivity, wider adaptability in the various agroecological regions and high genetic potential compared to other cereals (Mahesh et al, 2013). Maize is one of the most widely produced and consumed crops in the world by producing about 1116.2 million metric tons in 2019-2020 Abiotic stresses such as drought, waterlogging, submergence, salinity and extreme temperature are increasingly affecting crop production and productivity (Bray et al, 2000). Waterlogging has become one of the main constraints of maize production worldwide by affecting its yield performance (Du et al, 2017). The main causes of waterlogging in maize production are—continuous rainfall with inadequate drainage, contingent flooding, and high water-table. Sometimes maize is grown in converted paddy fields or in poorly drained soil that help create waterlogging during the rainy season (Amin et al, 2014).
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