Drought Stresses on Seed Germination and Early Growth of Maize and Sorghum

Abstract

Seeds of maize (Zea mays L.) and sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.] were submitted to different osmotic potential levels induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG) with the objective of evaluating the effects of drought stress on seed germination and early seedling growth. Seeds were arranged in paper rolls and soaked in PEG solutions prepared with osmotic potentials 0.0 (control), -0.2, -0.4, and -0.8 MPa and kept into a seed germinator, at 25 °C for 18 days. A completely randomized design in a 2 × 4 factorial scheme with four replications of 50 seeds each was used. The results showed that by increasing of the osmotic potential level, germinated seed number, germination rate index, root and shoot length, shoot and root dry matter, and seedling vigor index (SVI) decreased, while mean germination time (MGT) and root: shoot ratio (RSR) increased in both crops. Additionally, the maize was more susceptible than sorghum to drought stress, with germination response declining more rapidly with decreasing osmotic potential. Sorghum crop tolerates water stress of up to -0.2 MPa, without reducing germination of the seeds; however, the growth of shoots and roots are inhibited. Drought stress limits the process of seed germination and early growth of maize seedlings.

Effect of PEG Induced Drought Stress on Germination and Seedling Traits of Maize (Zea mays L.) Lines

“…2). Similar result was reported by Queiroz et al, (2019) in maize and sorghum. Increasing trend of root shoot ratio indicates that the drought tolerance mechanism adapted in the genotype as the increased ratio helps plant to cope with transpiration effect during drought and against lodging at maturity.…”

Deciphering drought tolerance potential of sweet corn genotypes through polyethylene glycol induced drought stress

“…In L 5 , T 2 , T 3 , L 3 ×T 3 , L 2 ×T 5 , L 3 ×T 1 , L 4 ×T 1 and Misthi showed an increasing trend with lowering water potential. This increasing trend of R/S ratio corroborates with the findings of Queiroz et al (2019) in maize and sorghum.…”

“…Hence, higher sensitivity of the crop to water stress at early growth stages can be detrimental to the crop growth. Biometric elements and indices at an early growth stage could be employed in designing the selection criteria to figure out the drought tolerant genotypes (Queiroz et al, 2019).…”

Modelos Estruturais De Gestão De Recursos Hídricos No Brasil

“…A transformação produtiva de certas zonas rurais mantendo nelas seus moradores e, mais que isso, melhorando as condições e qualidade de vida desses, como aponta Meyer (2004), é uma das metas perseguidas na roteirização turística, além de se constituir em importante indicador do desenvolvimento territorial defendido por Veiga (2002). Assim, pode-se afi rmar que a agregação de atividades de turismo ao sistema produtivo local de base agropecuária permitiu ao roteiro 'Verde que te quero verde' Muitos fatores podem afetar as respostas das plantas ao estresse hídrico como genótipo e espécies de planta, estádio de crescimento, severidade e duração do estresse, dentre outros fatores ambientais (PATANÈ et al, 2013;PETROVIC et al, 2016;QUEIROZ et al, 2019). Diferenças genéticas na tolerância à estresses abióticos em condições de cultivo protegido têm sido reportadas em cultivares de soja brasileiras (ZOZ et al, 2013), o que pode ser útil na identificação de genótipos mais adaptados a semeaduras sob condições ambientais adversas.…”