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Physiological and Ecological Characteristics and Sustainable Production of High-Yield Maize—Volume II

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Dear Colleagues,

As the global population increases, the world may face continuous food shortages in the coming decades. To meet the food requirements of the global population, an additional 70–100% increase in food production is needed by 2050. Achieving this without expanding cultivation into natural ecosystems will depend on raising the yield per unit area. Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the main staple crops and has the highest grain yield per unit area in the world. The grain yield of maize has increased considerably in many countries of the world such as China and the U.S. However, the actual maize yield is far lower than the potential yield. Therefore, obtaining a high maize yield is the constant target of agriculture production, which can ensure food security. To achieve a high yield of maize, it is necessary to clarify the cultivars, key field management practices (irrigation, fertilizer, etc.), plant patterns, and the related physiological and ecological characteristics. All these will be useful for designing strategies for sustainable production of high-yield maize across the world.

This Special Issue focuses on the key cultivation measures and the physiological and ecological characteristics of maize with a high grain yield. Original research articles about these topics will be accepted.

Dr. Peng Hou
Guest Editor

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Keywords

maize
high yield
sustainable production
cultivar
water and fertilizer utilization efficiency
environmental effects
canopy characteristics
physiological and ecological characteristics

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30 pages, 4432 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Morpho-Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Maize Hybrids under Recurrent Water Stress at Early Vegetative Stage

by Orawan Kumdee, Md. Samim Hossain Molla, Kulwadee Kanavittaya, Jutamas Romkaew, Ed Sarobol and Sutkhet Nakasathien

Agriculture 2023, 13(9), 1795; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13091795 - 11 Sep 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1128

Abstract

Rapid climate change may put future food security under threat, which emphasizes the significance of assessing the morpho-physiological and biochemical traits associated with maize tolerance against recurrent water stress at the early vegetative stage. Three maize varieties (V1, SUWAN2301; V2, SUWAN4452; and V3, S7328) and three water levels (I₁, daily watering as the control; I₂, watering every two days as the short stress; and I₃, watering every four days as the prolonged stress) were employed in a factorial design pot experiment. During the experiment, I₁’s soil moisture content (SMC) was maintained at almost 100% of its field capacity (FC), whereas I₂ and I₃’s volumetric SMC dropped to an average of 22.10% and 11.57%, respectively, following a stress phase. Fourteen distinct characteristics of maize were investigated at 5, 9, and 13 days after watering treatment initiation (DAWTI). The findings revealed that water levels significantly influenced all the tested traits (p < 0.05), except for a few traits at 5 or 9 DAWTI only, whereas the maize variety significantly influenced most of the studied attributes (p < 0.05). Except for proline content in leaf (PrL) and root (PrR); total soluble sugar in leaf (TSSL) and root (TSSR); and root length to shoot length ratio (RL:SL), the value of all analyzed characters was higher under I₁ compared to I₂ and I₃. However, during the first recovery period (RP), the recovery rate (RR) of stem perimeter (SP), root length (RL), root dry weight (RDW), leaf water potential (LWP), leaf greenness (LG), and TSSL were higher in I₂, whereas leaf area (LA) and RL:SL was higher in I₃. However, in the second RP, the RR of plant height (PH), SP, RL, LWP, LG, and TSSL were higher in I₃, whereas LA, RDW, RL:SL, PrL, PrR, and TSSR were higher in I₂ compared to each other. Under I₃, the RR of biochemical traits, i.e., PrL (29.45%) and TSSR (20.23%), were higher in the first RP, and PrR (20.74%) and TSSL (15.22%) were higher in the second RP. However, the variety V1 could recover more after a re-watering, and, in the second RP, it performed better in the case of LA (120.14%), PH (18.41%), SP (19.94%), RL (17.74%), Shoot dry weight (SDW) (56.82%), RDW (11.97%), LG (0.05%), PrR (42.55%), TSSL (18.54%), and TSSR (22.87%) than other varieties. The maize varieties performed differently under I₁ and I₃ according to the principal component analysis and stress tolerance index. The variety V1 exhibited superior performance under both water levels. The biplot analysis highlighted the importance of traits, such as PrL, RL, TSSL, TSSR, PrR, and RL:SL, in water-stressed conditions. However, re-watering following a water stress period triggered the recovery rates in most traits, particularly after the second four-day stress period, and variety V1 performed better as well. Nonetheless, more research on a genomic and molecular level is required to gain a deeper understanding of the precise processes of drought tolerance in maize, particularly under recurring water stress circumstances. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological and Ecological Characteristics and Sustainable Production of High-Yield Maize—Volume II)

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Physiological and Ecological Characteristics and Sustainable Production of High-Yield Maize—Volume II

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