Effect of Sodium Chloride Stress on the Adaptation of Zea mays Seedlings at the Expense of Growth
Effect of Sodium Chloride Stress on the Adaptation of Zea mays Seedlings at the Expense of Growth
Muhammad Junaid Yousaf 1, Farhad Ali2*and Fawad Ali2
ABSTRACT
Zea mays cultivar; Hycorn 984, is considered a moderate salt-tolerant plant cultivar that shows varying effects and adaptations to different concentrations of salt stress (i.e. NaCl) to which it is exposed. When three days old seedlings of maize were subjected to aerial salt stress of concentrations; 0.2%, 0.6% 1.2%, and 2% after a week in soil, the seedlings revealed the antagonistic effects which increased with elevated concentrations of salt stress. The experiment was kept for 5 weeks and the chlorophyll content, relative water contents (RWC), leaf water loss (WL), and Electrolytic leakage (EL) were measured, the seedlings showed adaptation to the salt stress at the expense of growth rate as high seedling death occurred at 1.2% and 2% treated pots. However, the high growth observed in control pots had low chlorophyll content and high electrolytic leakage, similar to the plants aerially treated with 2% NaCl while plants treated with 0.2%. 0.6% and 1.2% salt concentrations had high chlorophyll content and low electrolytic leakage, receptively. Seedlings exposed to a 2% salt stress had the highest RWC and low WL, followed by 1.2% and 0.6% while 0.2% and control plants performed similarly. In conclusion, few seedlings survived under salt stress with stunted growth, however, exhibited higher stability as compared to plants grown in control conditions. From the current study results, it is recommended that Hycorn 984 be cultivated in saline field conditions due to its relative adaptability to saline conditions, which may result in economic production compared to open-pollinated maize varieties or other maize varieties released for normal field conditions.
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