Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Maize (Zea mays L.) Cultivars Under Salinity Stress

Authors

NOSHEEN IFTIKHARFollow
SHAGUFTA PERVEENFollow
BABER ALIFollow
MUHAMMAD HAMZAH SALEEMFollow
MOHAMMAD KHALID Al-SADOONFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

NOSHEEN IFTIKHAR 0009-0007-7064-7706

SHAGUFTA PERVEEN 0009-0001-2614-514X

BABER ALI 0000-0003-1553-2248

MUHAMMAD HAMZAH SALEEM 0000-0002-3658-770X

MOHAMMAD KHALID Al-SADOON 0000-0001-7313-7401

DOI

10.55730/1300-011X.3185

Abstract

Salt stress is a serious threatening factor for cereal crops such as maize (Zea mays L.) by affecting their growth and development. In the current era, the requirement for staple crops is increasing, so it is important to screen out salt-tolerant genotypes. For this purpose, a pot experiment was designed within three replications on ten different genotypes of the maize. The plants were planted in plastic pots and salt stress (0, 40, 70, 100 mM) was maintained. The salt stress induced a noticeable reduction in plant growth traits (shoot length, root length, shoot, root fresh and dry weight, and leaf area (LA). The photosynthetic pigments as Chl a, Chl b, Total chlorophyll, and carotenoids. The elevated stress levels cause an intensive accumulation rate of MDA (malondialdehyde) and H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) resulting from stress exposure and ultimately damaged the membrane-bounded organelles. The Flavonoid and phenolic contents increased as the salt stress level increased, this increase was higher in Pearl and least in Sadaf. The activity of cellular antioxidants (SOD) is significantly enhanced under stress to quench oxidative stress. Our results revealed the genotype Sadaf as sensitive and salt tolerant genotypes were as Pearl > Sahiwal 2002 > Pioneer > MMRI(Y). Based on screening, the tolerant genotypes have the potential to grow under saline conditions. However, further research is needed to explore the genetic basis of salt tolerance in these genotypes.

Keywords

Cellular antioxidant, Cereal crop, Chlorophyll, Maize, Oxidative stress, Salt stress

First Page

332

Last Page

343

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

IFTIKHAR, NOSHEEN; PERVEEN, SHAGUFTA; ALI, BABER; SALEEM, MUHAMMAD HAMZAH; and Al-SADOON, MOHAMMAD KHALID (2024) "Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Maize (Zea mays L.) Cultivars Under Salinity Stress," Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry: Vol. 48: No. 3, Article 2. https://doi.org/10.55730/1300-011X.3185
Available at: https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/agriculture/vol48/iss3/2