Response of maize plant grown under water deficit stress to compost and melatonin under terraces and alternate furrow irrigation techniques

Abstract

HE CURRENT TREND is finding suitable irrigation techniques that conserve irrigation water and improve efficiency. So, a field experiment was conducted in the Experimental Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Mansoura Univ., El-Dakahlya Governorate, Egypt during the season of 2022, aimed to evaluate the growth performance and productivity of maize affected by different irrigation methods i.e., terraces, traditional furrow and alternative furrow techniques as main plots under soil addition of compost as subplots (with application of compost at the rate of 7.0 ton fed -1 and the other without compost application), and foliar application of melatonin at different levels (1.0 and 2.0 mmol L -1 ) as sub subplot. The trial was carried out in a split split-plot design with three replicates. The results showed that plants grown under alternative furrow irrigation technique without compost and melatonin had the highest values of enzymatic antioxidants i.e., superoxide dismutase SOD (80.26, unit mg -1 proteinˉ¹), peroxidase enzyme POD (246.54, unit mg -1 proteinˉ¹), and catalase enzyme CAT (89.07, unit mg -1 proteinˉ¹), at the period of 70 days from sowing, while the maize plants grown under terraces irrigation technique with compost and simultaneously sprayed with melatonin at the rate of 2.0 mmol L -1 possessed the lowest values of these enzymatic antioxidants (69.25, 178.28 and70.57 unit mg -1 proteinˉ¹ for SOD,POD and CAT, respectively). On the contrary, the maximum values of growth parameters and chemical constitute at 70 days from sowing (fresh and dry weight, leaf area chlorophyll content, N, P, K) as well as yield and its components and bio chemical traits of grains at harvest stage e.g., the weight of 1000 grain , cob length, No. of rows cob -1 , grain and biological yield, total carbohydrates, protein and oil content in grain were recorded with terraces irrigation technique plus compost and melatonin at rate of 2.0 mmol L -1 . Generally, it can be concluded that maize plant irrigation should be with the terrace technique and simultaneously addition of compost as water absorbent substance and foliar application of melatonin as a biological hormone regulates plant physiology.

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