Effect of foliar fertilization application on the growth and mineral nutrient content of maize seedlings under drought and salinity

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to investigate the interactive effects of foliar fertilization and drought and salinity on the growth of maize. Maize plants were grown in soil under drought or salinity in a greenhouse for 23 days after sowing. At harvest, plant height, shoot biomass, and the lengths, fresh weights and dry weights of the blade in the expanded leaf 3 and expanding leaves 4 and 5 were determined. Mineral elements (Na, K, Ca, Mg, P and N) in individual leaves were analyzed. Although there was a reduction in evapotranspiration, maize growth, such as shoot fresh weight and dry weight, and leaf fresh weight and dry weight under drought and salinity, the application of foliar fertilization did not improve plant growth under short-term drought or salt stress. Drought reduced the uptake of K, Ca, Mg and P, which may be attributed to decreased transpiration. An increase or no change in the nutrient concentration in leaves under saline conditions suggests that an osmotic effect may be responsible for the plant reduction.

Frequently asked questions about chlorophyll fluorescence, the sequel

“…The F V / F M level is quite insensitive to a decrease in RWC, whereas Φ PSII and PI tot respond strongly to a RWC decrease, showing a similar dependence on RWC. Similar decreases have been observed under natural conditions during slowly advancing drought stress (Živčák et al 2008b). The decrease in the Performance Index is associated with changes in Chl a fluorescence transients and, by extension, changes in rate constants of individual electron transport steps and/or the state of the ETC that are detected by fast Chl a fluorescence induction (reviewed, e.g., by Lazár 1999; Strasser et al 2004).…”

“…F V / F M values are extremely stable, starting to decline at a dehydration level that is lethal for typical leaves. If drought stress persists under field conditions for a longer period (days) the decrease in F V / F M values can be dramatic (Živčák et al 2008b). Hence, decreases in F V / F M cannot be used to monitor early drought stress effects.…”

Interactive Effects of N-, P- and K-Nutrition and Drought Stress on the Development of Maize Seedlings

“…To our knowledge, this is the first report of a comparison of maize seedling growth with N, P and K nutrient application individually or in combination under drought and well-watered conditions. Thus, the results here may suggest that supplying nutrients under deficient conditions could increase the drought tolerance of plants by increasing plant biomass for early growth vigour and establishment, which is in agreement with reports from the literature [9,10,31,34,35]. According to the literature [9], however, caution should be taken when considering an increase in the supply of nutrients to alleviate the adverse effects of drought stress only if the nutrient is present in the soil in insufficient amounts and the drought stress is not severe.…”

Interactions between soil water content and fertilizer on growth characteristics and biomass yield of Chinese white poplar (Populus tomentosaCarr.) seedlings

“…This finding also strongly supports the view that the availability of water is a major constraint to plant production in arid and semi-arid regions around the world (Singh and Singh 2006;Hu et al 2008). In the present study, under the relatively lower levels of W, the greater suppression of BY associated with the obvious reduction in SH, LA and P N was observed in monofactor effects analysis (Fig.…”