Developing Functional Relationships between Soil Moisture Content and Corn Early-Season Physiology, Growth, and Development

Vennam, Ranadheer Reddy; Ramamoorthy, P.; Poudel, Sadikshya; Reddy, K. Raja; Henry, W. Brien; Bheemanahalli, Raju

doi:10.3390/plants12132471

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…These results indicate that the stressed maize and sorghum plants invest in their root systems via allocation of more resources to their roots to support the changes in root morphology necessary to maximize water and nutrient uptake under drought stress [14]. Consistent with that, it has been reported that droughted green-house maize and sorghum plants develop deeper roots to absorb enough water and reduce the incidence of water deficits [66,67]. Further, it has been reported that maize hybrids that develop higher root/shoot ratio values can effectively survive drought stress [68].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Mitigation of drought stress in maize and sorghum by humic acid: differential growth and physiological responses

Abu-Ria,

Elghareeb,

Shukry

et al. 2024

BMC Plant Biol

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Background Drought is a major determinant for growth and productivity of all crops, including cereals, and the drought-induced detrimental effects are anticipated to jeopardize world food security under the ongoing global warming scenario. Biostimulants such as humic acid (HA) can improve drought tolerance in many cereals, including maize and sorghum. These two plant species are genetically related; however, maize is more susceptible to drought than sorghum. The physiological and biochemical mechanisms underlying such differential responses to water shortage in the absence and presence of HA, particularly under field conditions, are not fully understood. Results Herein, the effects of priming maize and sorghum seeds in 100 mg L−1 HA on their vegetative growth and physiological responses under increased levels of drought (100%, 80%, and 60% field capacity) were simultaneously monitored in the field. In the absence of HA, drought caused 37.0 and 58.7% reductions in biomass accumulation in maize compared to 21.2 and 32.3% in sorghum under low and high drought levels, respectively. These responses were associated with differential retardation in overall growth, relative water content (RWC), photosynthetic pigments and CO2 assimilation in both plants. In contrast, drought increased root traits as well as H2O2, malondialdehyde, and electrolyte leakage in both species. HA treatment significantly improved the growth of both plant species under well-watered and drought conditions, with maize being more responsive than sorghum. HA induced a 29.2% increase in the photosynthetic assimilation rate in maize compared to 15.0% in sorghum under high drought level. The HA-promotive effects were also associated with higher total chlorophyll, stomatal conductance, RWC, sucrose, total soluble sugars, total carbohydrates, proline, and total soluble proteins. HA also reduced the drought-induced oxidative stress via induction of non-enzymic and enzymic antioxidants at significantly different extents in maize and sorghum. Conclusion The current results identify significant quantitative differences in a set of critical physiological biomarkers underlying the differential responses of field-grown maize and sorghum plants against drought. They also reveal the potential of HA priming as a drought-alleviating biostimulant and as an effective approach for sustainable maize and sorghum production and possibly other crops in drought-affected lands.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Mitigation of drought stress in maize and sorghum by humic acid: differential growth and physiological responses

Abu-Ria,

Elghareeb,

Shukry

et al. 2024

BMC Plant Biol

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“…Plants are known to modify their morphology and their physiological and molecular functions in response to reduced soil moisture but the variation is influenced by the growth stage and by the species. These changes affect most of the biochemical processes of the plants, and in most cases, the effect is negative, such as a reduction in the photosynthetic capacity of the plant [49].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Use of Compatible Osmolytes as Drought Tolerance Indicator in Local Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) Landraces

Sewelo,

Madumane,

Nkane

et al. 2024

Horticulturae

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Watermelons are one of the most important crop species, and they are enjoyed across the globe; however, the cultivation of watermelon commercial varieties in arid regions is challenging, as they are highly susceptible to water deficit. Conversely, their wild relatives and traditional landraces have shown a higher tolerance to water deficit, which makes them important study material. Therefore, this study was undertaken to evaluate the potential roles of two compatible osmolytes (citrulline and arginine) in the tolerance of local watermelon accessions to drought stress. Four commonly cultivated watermelon accessions were used in this study to evaluate their response when exposed to water deficit stress. The accessions were planted in stress boxes in the greenhouse and allowed to grow until the fourth leaf was fully open and then the water deficit stress was initiated by withholding water for a period of nine days, before rewatering for three days. Data and leaf samples were collected at three-day intervals. The common drought indicators that were assessed, like chlorophyll fluorescence, showed that Clm-08 (wild watermelon) had significantly different results when compared to the other accessions; the Fv/Fm values for days 3, 6, and 9 were significantly higher than those of the other accessions, while phiNPQ was higher in the Clm-08 with average values of 0.41 and 0.41 on days 6 and 9 of the drought stress, respectively. This suggests that the wild watermelon responded differently to drought stress when compared with the other accessions. Arginine and citrulline are important osmolytes that play an important role in stress tolerance, and the results of the current study correlate with the common physiological indicators. The expression pattern for both the biochemical and molecular analyses of the two compatible osmolytes was higher in Clm-08 in comparison with that of the other accessions. The gene expressions of the enzymes in the citrulline and arginine pathways were higher in Clm-08; Cla022915 (CPS) recorded a 6-fold increase on day 6 and Cla002611 (ASS) recorded an 11-fold increase. This suggests that citrulline and arginine play an important role in watermelon tolerance to drought stress.

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“…Five levels of soil moisture regimes with 20 replicates for each treatment were created based on the United States Drought Monitor Index (USDM, 2023) to mimic drought conditions during flowering and grain‐filling periods. The soil moisture regimes were maintained by varying levels of VWC, with a control of 0.25 m 3 m −3 , and stress treatments with VWC levels of 0.20 (mild), 0.15 (moderate), 0.10 (severe), and 0.05 (extreme) m 3 m −3 , as described in the previous study (Vennam et al, 2023). Different irrigation durations were employed to accomplish the desired VWC levels, with 1000 ml plant −1 day −1 as the control, and a reduced irrigation of 800, 600, 400, and 200 ml plant −1 day −1 to induce soil moisture stress (Figure 1A, B).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The study was conducted at the R.R. (mild), 0.15 (moderate), 0.10 (severe), and 0.05 (extreme) m 3 m À3 , as described in the previous study (Vennam et al, 2023). Different irrigation durations were employed to accomplish the desired VWC levels, with 1000 ml plant À1 day À1 as the control, and a reduced irrigation of 800, 600, 400, and 200 ml plant À1 day À1 to induce soil moisture stress (Figure 1A, B).…”

Section: Plant Materials and Growth Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of soil moisture stress during the silk emergence and grain‐filling in maize

Vennam,

Poudel,

Ramamoorthy

et al. 2023

Physiologia Plantarum

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Suboptimal soil moisture during the growing season often limits maize growth and yield. However, the growth stage‐specific responses of maize to soil moisture regimes have not been thoroughly investigated. This study investigated the response of maize to five different soil moisture regimes, that are, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, and 0.05 m3 m−3 volumetric water content (VWC), during flowering and grain‐filling stages. Sub‐optimal soil moisture at the flowering and grain‐filling stages reduced ear leaf stomatal conductance by 73 and 64%, respectively. An increase in stress severity caused significant reductions in ear leaf chlorophyll content and greenness‐associated vegetation indices across growth stages. Fourteen days of soil moisture stress during flowering delayed silk emergence, reduced silk length (19%), and silk fresh weight (34%). Furthermore, sub‐optimal soil moisture caused a significant reduction in both kernel number (53%) and weight (54%). Soil moisture stress at the flowering had a direct impact on kernel number and an indirect effect on kernel weight. During grain‐filling, disruption of ear leaf physiology resulted in a 34% decrease in kernel weight and a 43% decrease in kernel number. Unlike grain‐filling, treatments at the flowering significantly reduced kernel starch (3%) and increased protein by 29%. These findings suggest that developing reproductive stage stress‐tolerant hybrids with improved resilience to soil moisture stress could help reduce the yield gap between irrigated and rainfed maize.

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Developing Functional Relationships between Soil Moisture Content and Corn Early-Season Physiology, Growth, and Development

Cited by 12 publications

References 45 publications

Mitigation of drought stress in maize and sorghum by humic acid: differential growth and physiological responses

Mitigation of drought stress in maize and sorghum by humic acid: differential growth and physiological responses

Potential Use of Compatible Osmolytes as Drought Tolerance Indicator in Local Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) Landraces

Impact of soil moisture stress during the silk emergence and grain‐filling in maize

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