Interactive effects of drought and heat stresses on morpho-physiological attributes, yield, nutrient uptake and oxidative status in maize hybrids - PubMed (original) (raw)

Interactive effects of drought and heat stresses on morpho-physiological attributes, yield, nutrient uptake and oxidative status in maize hybrids

Hafiz Athar Hussain et al. Sci Rep. 2019.

Abstract

Maize is a sensitive crop to drought and heat stresses, particularly at the reproductive stages of development. The present study investigated the individual and interactive effects of drought (50% field capacity) and heat (38 °C/30 °C) stresses on morpho-physiological growth, yield, nutrient uptake and oxidative metabolism in two maize hybrids i.e., 'Xida 889' and 'Xida 319'. The stress treatments were applied at tasseling stage for 15 days. Drought, heat and drought + heat stress caused oxidative stress by the over-production of ROS (O2-, H2O2, OH-) and enhanced malondialdehyde contents, which led to reduced photosynthetic components, nutrients uptake and yield attributes. The concurrent occurrence of drought and heat was more severe for maize growth than the single stress. However, both stresses induced the metabolites accumulation and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants to prevent the oxidative damage. The performance of Xida 899 was more prominent than the Xida 319. The greater tolerance of Xida 889 to heat and drought stresses was attributed to strong antioxidant defense system, higher osmolyte accumulation, and maintenance of photosynthetic pigments and nutrient balance compared with Xida 319.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Influence of heat, drought, and heat + drought stresses on (a) chlorophyll a content, (b) chlorophyll b content, (c) total chlorophyll content and (d) relative water content in two maize hybrids. Capped bars above means represent ± SE of three replicates. Asterisks above columns means denote the significant differences compared with control treatment for a single maize hybrid. *P ≤ 0.05; **P ≤ 0.01.

Figure 2

Figure 2

Influence of heat, drought, and heat + drought stresses on (a) photosynthetic rate (Pn), (b) stomatal conductance (Gs), (c) transpiration rate (Tr) and (d) intercellular CO2 (Ci) in two maize hybrids. Capped bars above means represent ± SE of three replicates. Asterisks above columns means denote the significant differences compared with control treatment for a single maize hybrid. *P ≤ 0.05; **P ≤ 0.01.

Figure 3

Figure 3

Influence of heat, drought, and heat + drought stresses on (a) superoxide anion (O2−), (b) hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), (c) hydroxyl radical (OH−) and (d) malonaldehyde (MDA) contents in two maize hybrids. Capped bars above means represent ± SE of three replicates. Asterisks above columns means denote the significant differences compared with control treatment for a single maize hybrid. *P ≤ 0.05; **P ≤ 0.01.

Figure 4

Figure 4

Influence of heat, drought, and heat + drought stresses on the activities/levels of (a) total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), (b) catalase (CAT), (c) peroxidase (POD**), (d)** total antioxidant capacity(T-AOC), (e) ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and (f) reduced glutathione (GSH) in two maize hybrids. Capped bars above means represent ± SE of three replicates. Asterisks above columns means denote the significant differences compared with control treatment for a single maize hybrid. *P ≤ 0.05; **P ≤ 0.01.

Figure 5

Figure 5

Influence of heat, drought, and heat + drought stresses on the accumulations of (a) soluble sugar, (b) free proline, (c) soluble protein and (d) heat shock protein in two maize hybrids. Capped bars above means represent ± SE of three replicates. Asterisks above columns means denote the significant differences compared with control treatment for a single maize hybrid. *P ≤ 0.05; **P ≤ 0.01.

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