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. 2015 Apr 30;10(4):e0124441.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124441. eCollection 2015.

Physiological Strategies to Improve the Performance of Spring Maize (Zea mays L.) Planted under Early and Optimum Sowing Conditions

Muhammad Amir Bakhtavar  1 , Irfan Afzal  1 , Shahzad Maqsood Ahmed Basra  1 , Azraf-Ul-Haq Ahmad  2 , Mehmood Ali Noor  3
Affiliations

Physiological Strategies to Improve the Performance of Spring Maize (Zea mays L.) Planted under Early and Optimum Sowing Conditions

Muhammad Amir Bakhtavar et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Low temperature at stand establishment and high temperature at reproductive stage are involved in reduction of grain yield of spring maize. A field study was therefore conducted to evaluate different physiological strategies for improving performance of spring maize under temperature extremes. Seed priming and foliar spray with 3% moringa leaf extract (MLE) and 100 mg L-1 kinetin solution alone or in all possible combinations with each other at three growth stages (knee height, tasseling and grain filling stage) and hydropriming was compared with control. Seed priming plus foliar spray of MLE and kinetin significantly improved stand establishment especially under early sown crop as indicated by reduced mean emergence time (MET), improved emergence index (EI) and final emergence percentage (FEP). Similarly increased chlorophyll contents, crop growth rate, leaf area index, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, relative water content and decreased membrane permeability were recorded in both early and optimum sowing conditions in MLE priming plus foliar spray treatment. All these improvements were harvested in the form of increased yield and harvest index compared with control treatment. Overall crop sown at optimum time performed best but exogenous application of MLE through seed priming and foliar spray maximally improved the performance of early sown maize crop which is attributed more likely due to improved stand establishment, chlorophyll and phenolic contents, increased leaf area duration and grain filling period. It can be concluded that seed priming with MLE along with its foliar spray could increase production of maize under temperature extremes.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. The daily fluctuation in average temperature during whole crop growth period of spring maize hybrid 32-F10.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Chlorophyll content of spring maize in relation to exogenous application of growth promoting substances.
(Kin; Kinetin, MLE; Moringa leaf extract, P+F; Priming followed by foliar spray). Vertical bars are standard error of means. Letters on the legends indicate significant (P<0.05) difference among physiological strategies.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Membrane permeability, relative water content and total phenolics of spring maize in relation to exogenous application of growth promoting substances.
(Kin003Binetin, MLE; Moringa leaf extract, P+F; Priming followed by foliar spray.) Vertical bars are standard error of means. Letters on the legends indicate significant (P<0.05) difference among physiological strategies.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Crop growth rate of spring maize in relation to exogenous application of growth promoting substances.
(Kin; Kinetin, MLE; Moringa leaf extract, P+F; Priming followed by foliar spray.) Vertical bars are standard error of means. Letters on the legends indicate significant (P<0.05) difference among physiological strategies.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Leaf area index of spring maize in relation to exogenous application of growth promoting substances.
(Kin; Kinetin, MLE; Moringa leaf extract, P+F; Priming followed by foliar spray.)
Fig 6
Fig 6. Photosynthetic rate and transpiration rate of spring maize in relation to exogenous application of growth promoting substances.
(Kin; Kinetin, MLE; Moringa leaf extract, P+F; Priming followed by foliar spray.) Vertical bars are standard error of means. Letters on the legends indicate significant (P<0.05) difference among physiological strategies.
Fig 7
Fig 7. Grain quality attributes of spring maize in relation to exogenous application of growth promoting substances.
(Kin; Kinetin, MLE; Moringa leaf extract, P+F; Priming followed by foliar spray.) Vertical bars are standard error of means. Letters on the legends indicate significant (P<0.05) difference among physiological strategies.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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