What is it about?
Experiment 1 In first phase, a pot experiment was conducted in a wire-house / rain-out shelter to optimize the foliar rate for B supply helpful in improving drought tolerance in maize under drought stress at seedling stage. For this purpose, one drought-tolerant (Dekalb-6525) and sensitive (Yousafwala) maize hybrids selected from laboratory experiments were sprayed with distilled water (control) and B solutions at 2, 4 and 6 mg L-1 under normal and water-deficit conditions. It was noted that foliar treatment of B at 4 mg L-1 considerably improved the plant height, root length and dry matter stress tolerance indices of maize. In addition, results indicated that the maize cultivar Dekalb-6525 more responsive to foliar B supply than Yousafwala Hybrid. Experiment 2 A wire-house / rain-out shelter experiment was carried out during second phase of this study. The optimized rates of B (4 mg L-1) was used to evaluate the physiological and biochemical changes in two maize cultivars differing in drought tolerance under normal and water-deficit conditions. Drought stress brings considerable growth inhibition through reduction in uptake of B, disturbance in gas exchange characteristics, water relations, chlorophyll contents and osmolyte accumulation by increasing MDA accumulation and disproportioning antioxidant system as compared to normal conditions. Foliar treatment of B at six leaf and tasseling stages of maize substantially improved physiological and antioxidative responses of both maize cultivars under water limited environment. application of B effectively reduced the accumulation of osmolytes under both normal and drought stress condition. Results of the study revealed that maize cultivar, Dekalb-6525 performed better in terms of improved water balance, chlorophyll contents and gas exchange characteristics through enhanced accumulation of compatible osmolytes and increasing antioxidant activities than Yousafwala Hybrid.
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Why is it important?
Boron uptake is inexorably restricted under moisture-deficit conditions . Combination of such nutritional problems with moisture deficit is responsible for further losses in crop production. In this situation, development of easy and cost-effective strategies to improve plant health is an important task.
Perspectives
Drought interrupts the nutritive status of plants by changing ion concentrations in tissues as the supply of mineral nutrients via the roots is restricted under drought conditions because of its negative effects on nutrient availability. Worldwide at least 60% of cultivated soils have growth limiting problems arising from mineral nutrient deficiency and toxicity. Combination of such nutritional problems with other environmental stress factors such as drought, salinity, chilling etc. are responsible for the severe losses in crop production. It is concluded that foliar application of boron at critical growth stages helps to improve the resistance of plants against adverse conditions of drought which in turn may result in improved economical yield. However, few studies have inspected drought tolerance in plants in relation to boron availability. This study would be helpful for the farmers to improve the production of maize under drought stress.
DR. Dr. Muhammad Naeem Naeem
The Islamia University of Bahawalpur
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Improving drought tolerance in maize by foliar application of boron: water status, antioxidative defense and photosynthetic capacity, Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, August 2017, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/03650340.2017.1370541.
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