Screening Corn Hybrids for Soil Waterlogging Tolerance at an Early Growth Stage

Abstract

Identification of corn hybrids that can withstand wet soil conditions is one approach to prevent crop production losses from abiotic stress caused by excessive soil moisture during early spring season in the midwestern United States. A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted in 2013 to screen and identify corn hybrids tolerant or susceptible to soil waterlogging at the V2 growth stage. The main plots included waterlogging durations: no waterlogging; 14-day waterlogging and then allowing recovery from waterlogging stress for 7 days; and 21-day waterlogging. Subplots included eight commercial corn hybrids. The shoot and root biomass, plant height, stomatal conductance, and chlorophyll meter readings were decreased due to waterlogging for 14 days and 21 days. Hybrid #2 appeared to be more tolerant to waterlogging as evidenced by greater growth and higher stomatal conductance and chlorophyll meter readings on newer leaves under waterlogged conditions. Hybrid #5 and Hybrid #8 were more susceptible to waterlogging than other hybrids. Large variability occurred among corn hybrids in response to soil waterlogging durations. Beneficial effects of improved soil conditions after excess water removal from 14-day waterlogged pots were not seen in this experiment, probably due to the short recovery time period between the excess water removal and experiment termination.

Developing Functional Relationships between Soil Waterlogging and Corn Shoot and Root Growth and Development

“…Bragina et al [ 35 ] reported that plant height declined 7, 11, and 23% when corn was flooded for 1, 2, and 3 days, respectively, at the V2 stage. Other studies have also reported a reduced plant height due to waterlogging in the field [ 3 , 6 ].…”

“…Poor soil structure caused by natural or human influences may also restrict the internal drainage within the soil and further worsen waterlogging [ 5 ]. As the soil remains waterlogged, the soil redox potential declines [ 6 ], and the accumulation of reduced substances can reach phytotoxic levels [ 7 ]. Additionally, soil pH has been reported to increase due to protons’ consumption by reducing Fe and Mn oxides [ 6 ].…”

“…As the soil remains waterlogged, the soil redox potential declines [ 6 ], and the accumulation of reduced substances can reach phytotoxic levels [ 7 ]. Additionally, soil pH has been reported to increase due to protons’ consumption by reducing Fe and Mn oxides [ 6 ]. However, Drew et al [ 8 ] suggest that the shortage of the oxygen available to plant roots is still the main factor restricting plant productivity.…”

Insights into the role of cytokinin and gibberellic acid in improving waterlogging tolerance of mung bean

“…It is envisaged that at the beginning of waterlogging stress, plant roots rapidly transmit a xylem-borne signals to the leaves in the form of hormones, most notably abscisic acid (ABA) to slow down the process of transpiration through stomatal closure, and thus attenuating carbon dioxide availability in leaves (Jackson et al, 2003;Najeeb et al, 2015). Coupled with decreased transpiration rate because of enhanced stomatal closure, the waterlogged-mediated anaerobic respiration triggered a drop in root hydraulic conductivity and an upsurge in root cell death, resulting in inadequate ATP for active delivery of water and nutrients to the shoots, thereby diminishing net photosynthetic rate (Steffens et al, 2005;Kaur et al, 2019). Henceforth, the supply of photoassimilates from leaves to different plant parts is also reduced, which ultimately leading to poor plant growth and biomass production (Kogawara et al, 2006).…”

Adaptation to Early-Season Soil Waterlogging Using Different Nitrogen Fertilizer Practices and Corn Hybrids

“…All pre-plant fertilizer N was uniformly surface broadcasted and then incorporated 15 cm deep immediately after application using a Tilloll (Landoll Corp., Marysville, KS, USA). Two commercially available corn hybrids, Hybrid #1 (P1360HR) and Hybrid #2 (P1498AM) (DuPont Pioneer, Johnston, IA, USA), used in this study were selected based on a greenhouse screening trial on flooding tolerance of commercially available corn hybrids in order to obtain one hybrid that showed tolerance and another that was less tolerant to soil waterlogging [31]. Hybrid #2 appeared to be more tolerant to waterlogging based on waterlogging screening in greenhouse experiment.…”