Response of yield and some physiological traits of rainbow maize to plastic mulch, anti-transpiration materials and irrigation regimes

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph. D. Candidate, Dept. of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Yasouj, Yasouj, Iran

2 Assist. Prof., Dept. of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Yasouj, Yasouj, Iran

3 Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Yasouj, Yasouj, Iran

4 Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Yasouj, Iran

Abstract

The effects of plastic mulch, anti-transpiration materials and irrigation regimes were evaluated on ear yield and some physiological traits of rainbow maize. The experiment was carried out in Borazjan located in Bushehr Province, Iran, during 2016 and 2017 growing seasons. The experimental design was split-split plots in randomized complete block design with three replications. The main factor of the experiment was irrigation regimes at three levels including: 1) Irrigation after 25% water depletion of field capacity (no water deficit stress), 2) Irrigation after 40% water depletion of field capacity (mild water deficit stress) and 3) Irrigation after 60% water depletion of field capacity (severe water deficit stress), sub-factor at two levels including plastic mulch and without mulch and sub-sub-factor at three levels including kaolin and atrazine anti-transpiration materials and control treatment (without anti-transpiration materials). The results showed that the interaction of irrigation regimes, plastic mulch and anti-transpiration materials was significant on ear yield. At irrigation regime of 25% water depletion, the highest ear yield (1759.8 g.m-2) was found when soil surface was covered with plastic mulch and plants were sprayed with atrazine. On the other hand, the minimum ear yield (1165.7 g.m-2) was obtained when soil surface uncovered and no anti-transpiration materials were applied. With decreasing soil water, atrazine application increased fresh ear yield more than kaolin. Under severe water deficit stress condition (60% water depletion), chlorophyll and protein contents of leaves decreased. In total, the results of this research showed that application of plastic mulch and atrazine anti-transpiration are recommended to produce the highest quantitative and qualitative yield in rainbow maize in regions where water is the main limiting factor.

Keywords


Abdullah, A., Mohammed Azize, M., Siddique, K. and Flower, K. 2015. Film antitranspirants increase yield in drought stressed wheat plants by maintaining high grain number. Journal of Agricultural Water Management 159: 11-18.##Akcay, S. and Dagdelen, N. 2016. Water use efficiency, yield and yield component of second crop sunflower under deficit irrigation. Turkish Journal of Field Crops 21 (2): 190-199.##Arnon, D. I. 1949. Copper enzyme in isolated chloroplast and polyphenoloxidase in Beta vulgaris. Plant Physiology 24 (1): 1-15.##Bajons P., Klinger, G. and Schlosser, V. 2005. Determination of stomatal conductance by means of infrared thermography. Journal of Infrared Physics and Technology 46: 429-439.##Bavi, H., Moradi Telavat, M. R., Siadat, S. A. and Koochakzadeh, A. 2016. Effects of plant density on sweet and baby corn (Hybrid KSC 403) yield and yield components. Iranian Journal of Field Crops Research 14 (1): 100-108. (In Persian with English Abstract).##Bayat, S. and Sepehri, A. 2012. Paclobutrazol and salicylic acid application ameliorates the negative effect of water stress on growth and yield of maize plants. Journal of Research in Agricultural Science 8 (2): 127-139.##Cantore, V. and Albrizio, R. 2009. Kaolin-based particle film technology affects tomato physiology, yield and quality. Environmental and Experimental Botany 66: 279-288.##Chaves, M. M., Flexas, J. and Pinheiro, C. 2009. Photosynthesis under drought and salt stress:  Regulation mechanisms from whole plant to cell. Annals of Botany-London 103: 551-560.##Cheng, L. I., Sun, B. C., Tang, H. J., Wang, T. Y., Yu, L. I., Zhang, D. F., Xie, X. Q., Shi, Y. S., Song, Y. C., Yang, X. H. and Li, J. S. 2017. Simple nonlinear model for the relationship between maize yield and cumulative water amount. Journal of Integrative Agriculture 30 (16): 858-66.##Darlington, A., Vishnevestkaia, K. and Blake, T. 2008. Growth enhancement and antitranspirant activity following seed treatment with a derivative of 5-hydroxybenzimidazole (Ambiol) in four drought-stressed agricultural species. Physiologia Plantarum 97 ( 2): 217-222.##Davari, A. 2016. The role of mulching on soil characteristics. International Journal of Agriculture and Biosciences 5 (5): 250-256.##Del Amor, F. M., Cuadra-Crespo, P., Walker, D. J., Camara, J. M. and Madrid, R. 2010. Effect of foliar  application of antitranspirant on photosynthesis and  water relations of pepper plants under different levels  of CO2 and water stress. Plant Physiology 167: 1232-1238.##Erwin, A. T. 1949. The origin and history of pop corn, Zea mays L. var. indurata (Sturt.) Bailey mut. Everta (sturt.) Erwin. Agronomy Journal 41 (2): 53-59.##Farre, I. and Faci, J. M. 2006. Comparative response of maize (Zea mays L.) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) to deficit irrigation in a Mediterranean environment. Agricultural Water Management 83: 135-143.##Gang, B., Hui, Z., Lin, L., Fei, L. and Ping, D. 2010. Effect of anti-transpiration on vineyard in the extreme arid area. Journal of Northern Horticulture 16: 44-49.##Ghazian Tafrishi, S., Ayeneband, A., Tavakoli, H., Khavari Khorasani, S. and Joleini, M. 2014. Investigation on yield, yield components and secondary traits of sweet corn as affected by different irrigation levels and planting method. Indian Journal of Fundamental and Applied Life Science 22: 316-325.##Giancarla, V., Madosa, E., Ciulca, S., Coradini, R., Iuliana, C., Mihaela, M. and Lazar, A. 2013. Influence of water stress on the chlorophyll content in barley. Journal of Horticulture, Forestry and Biotechnology 17: 223-228.##Goodarzian-Ghahfarokhi, M., Mansouri-Far, C., Saeidi, M. and Abdoli, M. 2016. Different physiological and biochemical responses in corn hybrids subjected to drought stress at vegetative and reproductive stages. Journal of Biological 60 (1): 27-37.##Goreta, S., Leskovar, D. I. and Jifon, J. L. 2007. Gas exchange, water status, and growth of pepper seedlings exposed to transient water deficit stress are differentially altered by anti-transpirants. American Society of Horticulture Science 132: 603-610.##Greaves, G. and Wang, Y. M. 2017. The effect of water stress on radiation interception, radiation use efficiency and water use efficiency of maize in a tropical climate. Turkish Journal of Field Crops 22 (1): 114-125.##Hamzei, J., Abasi, H. and Vaziri Amjad, Z. 2016. Effect of different mulches on yield, yield components of grain maize and weeds dry weight. Journal of crops Improvement (Journal of Agriculture) 19 (1): 105-117. (In Persian with English Abstract).##Houmayouni, H. and Khazarian, V. 2014. Effect of different irrigation levels on soluble sugars, starch and proline in three corn hybrids. Indian Journal of Scientific Research 7 (1): 910-917.##Jabasingh, C. and Saravana Babu, S. 2014. Impact of water stress on protein content of corn (Zea mays. L.). Journal of Academic and Industrial Research 2 (12): 2278-5213.##Kar, M. and Mishra, D. 1976. Catalase, peroxides and poly-phenoloxides activities during rice leaf senescence. Plant Physiology 57: 315-319.##Kattlewell, P. S., Heath, W. L. and Haigh, I. M. 2010. Yield enhancement of droughted wheat by film antitranspirant application. Agricultural Science 3: 143-147.##Kazempour, S. and Tajbakhsh, M. 2002. Effect of some antitranspirants on vegetative characteristics, yield and yield parameters of corn under limited irrigation. Iranian Journal of Agricultural Science 33 (2): 205-211. (In Persian with English Abstract).##Kumar, P., Lakshmi, N. J. and Mani, V. P. 2002. Interactive effects of salicylic acid and phytohormones on  photosynthesis and grain yield of soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill). Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants 6: 179-176.##Liu, C. A. and Kadambot, H. M. S. 2015. Does plastic mulch improve crop yield in semiarid farmland at high altitude? Crop Economics Production and Management 107 (5): 1724-1732.##Liu, X. and Huang, B. 2000. Heat stress injury in relation to membrane lipid peroxidation in creeping. Crop Science 40: 503-510.##Ludwig N., Cabrini, R., Faoro, F., Gargano, M., Gomarasca, S., Iriti, M., Picchi, V. and Soave, C. 2010. Reduction of evaporative flux in bean leaves due to chitosan treatment assessed by infrared thermography. Journal of Infrared Physics and Technology 53: 65-70.##Mishra, A. and Choudhuri, M. A. 1999. Effects of salicylic acid on heavy metal-induced membrane deterioration mediated by lipoxygenase in rice. Journal of Plant Biology 42: 409-415.##Mohawesh, O. 2016. Utilizing deficit irrigation to enhance growth performance and water-use efficiency of eggplant in arid environments. Journal of Agriculture Science and Technology 18: 265-276.##Oukarroum, A., Schansker, G. and Strasser, R. J. 2009. Drought stress effects on photosystem I content and photosystem II thermotolerance analyzed using Chlorophyll a fluorescence kinetics in barley varieties differing in their drought tolerance. Physiology Plant 137: 188-199.##Parry, M. A. J., Andralojc, P. J., Khan, S., Lea,  P. J. and Keys, A. J. 2002. Rubisco activity: Effects of drought stress. Annals of Botany 89: 833-839.##Patil, R. P., Chetti, M. B. and Hiremath, S. M. 2009. Influence of agrochemicals on morphophysiological characters, yield and yield components of sugarcane under moisture stress. Karnataka Journal of Agriculture and Science 22 (4): 759-761.##Sakenian Dehkordi, N. and Farhadi, R. 2016. Mulch treatment with mulch planter its effects on maize production. Agricultural Science 80 (4): 247-252.##Sanches, F. J., Manzanares, M., De Andres, E. F., Tenorio, J. L. and Ayerbe, L. 1998. Turgor maintenance, osmotic adjustment and soluble sugar and proline accumulation in 49 pea cultivars in response to water stress. Field Crops Research 59: 451-455.##Shasha, J. I., Ling, T., Fusheng, L., Hongna, L., Sien, L., Taisheng, D. and Youjie, W. 2017. Effect of a new antitranspirant on the physiology and water use efficiency of soybean under different irrigation rates in anarid region. Frontiers of Agriculture Science and Engineering 4 (2): 155-164.##Silva, M. D. A., Jifon, J. L., Da Silva, J. A. G. and Sharma, V. 2007. Use of physiological parameters as fast tools to screen for drought tolerance in sugar cane. Plant Physiology 19 (3): 193- 201.##Sun, S. J., Fan, Y. M., Xu, Z. H., Zhang, X. D. and Chi, D. C. 2014. Effects of planting density on soil moisture and corn yield under plastic film mulching in a rain-fed region of northeast China. Chinese Journal of Ecology 33: 2650-2655.##Tururian, Sh., Pasari, B. and Mohamadi, Kh. 2017. The effect of deposition of kaolin and irrigation cut on the characteristics of safflower. Physiology Plant 7 (37): 49-63. (In Persian with English Abstract).##Valimohamadi, F., Tagbaksh shishvan, M. and Shekari, F. 2014. Effect of anti-stress and anti-transpirant materials on yield, yield components and seed quality of soybean under different irrigation regimes. Advances in Environmental Biology 8 (24): 371-378.##Weerasinghe, M., Kettlewell, P., Grove, I. and Hare, M. 2016. Evidence for improved pollen viability as the mechanism for film antitranspirant mitigation of drought damage to wheat yield. Journal of Crop and Pasture Science 67 (2): 137-146.##Wu, M. T., Singh, B. and Salunkhe, D. K. 1971. Influence  of foliar application of seedling. Igran and GS-14254 on delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase of pea seedling. Phytochemistry 10:
2025-2027.##Xu, J., Li, C., Liu, H., Zhou, P., Tao, Z. and Wang, P. 2015. The effect of plastic film mulching on maize growth and water use in dry and rainy years northeast China. Journal of National Basic Research Program of China 1-14.##Yaghi, T., Arsalan, A. and Naoum, F. 2013. Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) water use efficiency under plastic mulch and drip irrigation. Agricultural Water Management 128: 149-157.##Yaseen, R., Shafi, J., Ahmad, W., Rana, M. S., Salim, M. and Qaisrani, S. A. 2014. Effect of deficit irrigation and mulch on soil physical properties, growth and yield of maize. Environment and Ecology Research 2 (3): 122-137.