The effect of foliar application of ascorbic acid on yield components and physiologic character of sweet corn under different irrigation regims

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Graduate M. Sc. Student, Dept. of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Saveh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Saveh, Iran

2 Young Researchers and Elite Club, Saveh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Saveh, Iran

3 Assist. Prof., Dept. of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Saveh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Saveh, Iran

Abstract

To investigate the effect of ascorbic acid foliar application on phenological and physiological characteristics of sweet corn under water deficits, an experiment was carried out as split plots in randomized complete block design with three replications at Hashtgerd in 2014. Three levels of drought stress (complete irrigation, moderate and severe drought stress) were considered as main plots and four levels of ascorbic acid foliar application (control, 40, 80 and 120 mg.lit-1) as sub-plots. The studied characteristics were plant height, number of grain per ear, 1000-grain weight, grain yield, total chlorophyll, relative water content (RWC), proline and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. The results showed that drought stress decreased plant height, number of grain per ear, 1000-grain weight, grain yield, total chlorophyll, RWC and increased proline accumulation and SOD and catalase activities so that severe drought stress conditions decreased number of grain per ear, 1000-grain weight and grain yield about 43.03, 23.11 and 49%, respectively. In contrast, ascorbic acid foliar application increased plant height, 1000-grain weight, grain yield, total chlorophyll and RWC and reduced proline accumulation and SOD and catalase activities so that the most positive effect of ascorbic acid was observed in 120 mg.lit-1. Also, ascorbic acid foliar application with 120 mg.lit-1 increased grain yield about 32.1%.

Keywords


Ajay, A., Sairam, R. K. and Srivasta, G. C. 2001. Oxidative stress and antioxidative system in plants. Current Science 82: 1227-1238.#Arnon, D. I. 1949. Copper enzymes in isolated chloroplasts. Polyphenol oxidase in Beta vulgaris. Plant Physiology 4: 1-15.#Arshi, Y. 2000. Genetic improvement of vegetable crops. Jahad Daneshgahi of Mashhad Publication, Mashhad, Iran. 724 p. (In Persion).#Aspinal, D. and Paleg, L. 1981. Proline accumulation. Physioological aspects. Plant Physiology 25: 205-240.#Bankehsaz, A. 2003. Instruction of corn double row sowing. Seed and Plant Improvement Institute, Karaj, Iran. pp: 25-30. (In Persion).#Banziger, M., Edmeades, G. O., Beck, D. and Bellon, M. 2000. Breeding for drought and nitrogen stress tolerance in maize: From theory to practice. D. F. CIMMYT, Mexico.#Bassetti, P. and Westgate, M. E. 1993. Water deficit affects receptivity of maize silks. Crop Science
33: 278-182.#Bates, L. S., Waldern, R. P. and Teave, I. D. 1973. Rapid determination of free proline for water stress studies. Plant and Soil 39: 205-207.#Below, F. E., Cazzetts, J. O. and Seebauer, J. R. 2000. Carbon/nitrogen interactions during ear and kernel development of maize.#Crop Science Society of America 29: 15-24.#Cakmak, I. and Horst, W. 1991. Effect of aluminium on lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase activities in root tip of soybean (Glysin max). Plant Phisiology 83: 463-468.#Cho, V. H. and Park, J. O. 2000. Mercury–induced oxidative stress in tomato seedlings. Plant Science 126: 1-9.#Costa, G. and Morel, L. 1994. Water relation gas exchange and amino acid content in cd-treated lettuce. Plant Physioilogy and Biochemistry 32: 561-570.#Debaeke, P. and Aboudrare, A. 2004. Adaptation of crop management to water-limited environment. European Journal of Agronomy 21: 433-446.#Dolatabadian, A., Modarres Sanavy, S. A. M. and Sharifi, M. 2009. Effect of water deficit stress and foliar application of ascorbic acid on antioxidants enzymes activity and some biochemical changes in leaves of grain corn (Zea mayz L.). Iranian Journal of Biology 22 (3): 407-422. (In Persion with English Abstract).#Emam, Y. and Ranjbar, Gh. H. 2001. The effect of plant density and water stress during vegetative phase on grain yield, yield components and water use efficiency of maize. Iranian Journal of Crop Science 3: 51-63. (In Persion with English Abstract).#Emam, Y. and Niknejad, M. 2004. An introduction to the physiology of crop yield. Shiraz University Press, Shiraz, Iran. 571 p. (In Persion).#Eraslan, F., Inal, A., Pilbeam, D. J. and Gunes, A. 2008. Interactive effects of salicylic acid and silicon on oxidative damage and antioxidant activity in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L. cv. Matador) grown under boron toxicity and salinity. Plant Growth Regulation 55: 207-219.#Franklin, P., Gardner, R., Pearce, B. and Mitchell, R. L. 2010. Physiology of crop plants. Scientific Press. 336 p.#Giannopolitis, C. and Ries, S. 1997. Superoxide dismutase. I: Occurrence in higher plant. Plant Physiology 59: 309-314.#Gressel, J. and Galun, E. 1994. Genetic controls of photooxidant tolerance. In: Foyer, C. H. and Mullineaux, P. M. (Eds.). Causes of photooxidative stress and amelioration of defence systems in plants. Chemical Rubber Company Press, Boca Raton. pp: 237-274.#Horvath, E., Szalai, G. and Janda, T. 2007. Induction of abiotic stress tolerance by salicylic acid signaling. Plant Growth Regulation 26: 290-300.#Hugh, J. and Davis, F. 2003. Effect of drought stress on leaf and whole canopy radiation efficiency and yield of maize. Agronomy Journal 95: 688-696.#Jones, R. J. and Setter, T. L. 2000. Hormonal regulation of early kernel development. In: Westgate, E. and Boote, K. J. (Eds.). Physiology and modeling kernel set in maize. Crop Science Society of America, Madison, WI.#Khan, M.A., Gul, B. and Wecer, D.J. 2004. Action of plant growth regulators and salinity on seed germination of ceratoides lanata. Botany and Range Science 82:17-42.#Kheyri, M. 2006. Plant response to environmental stress. Publicationsof  Arash Computer. 140 p. (In Persion).#Mohammadkhani, N. and Heidari, R. 2007. Effects of drought stress on soluble proteins in two maize varieties. Turkish Journal of Biology 32: 23-30.#Noctor, G. and Foyer, C. H. 1998. Ascorbate and glutathione: Keeping active oxygen under control. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology 49: 249-279.#Oktem, A., Oktem, A. G. and Coskum, Y. 2004. Determination of sowing dates of sweet corn under Sunliurfa conditios. Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry 28 (2): 83-91.#Osborne, S. L., Schepers, J. S., Francis, D. D. and Schlemmer, M. R. 2002. Use of spectral radiance to inseason biomass and grain yield in nitrogen and water-stressed corn. Crop Science
42: 165-171.#Pandey, R. K., Maranville, J. W. and Chetima, M. M. 2000. Deficit irrigation and nitrogen effects on maize in a Sahelian environment. II: Shoot growth. Agricultural Water Management 46 (1): 15–27.#Payero, J. O., Tarkalson, D. D., Irmak, S., Davison, D. and Petersen, J. L. 2009. Effect of timing of a deficit-irrigation allocation on corn evapotran, spiration, yield, water use efficiency and dry mass. Agricultural Water Management96: 1387-1397.#Pessarakli, M. 2001. Handbook of plant and crop physiology. 2nd Edition. Marcel Dekker Inc. New York, USA. 997 p.#Pignocchi, C. and Foyer, C. H. 2003. Apoplastic ascorbate metabolism and its role in the regulation of cell signaling. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 6: 379-389.#Schlemmer, M. R., Francis, D. D., Shanahan, F. and Chepers, S. 2005. Remotely measuring chlorophyll content in corn leaves with differing nitrogen levels and relative water content. Agronomy Journal 97: 106-112.#Secenji, M., Lendvai, A. Hajosne, Z., Dudits, D. and Gyorgyey, J. 2005. Experimental system for studing long-term drought stress adaptation of wheat cultivars. Proceeding of the 8th Hangarian Congress on Plant Physiology 49 (1-2): 51-52.#Seilsepoor, M., Jaafari, P. and Mollahosseini, H. 2006. The effects of drought stress and plant density on yield and some agronomic traits of maize (SC301). Journal of Research in Agricultural Science 2: 13-24. (In Persion with English Abstract).#Shao, H. B., Chu, L. Y., Zhao, H. L. and Kang, C. 2008. Primary antioxidant free radical scavenging and redox signaling pathways in higher plant cells. International Journal of Biological Sciences 4 (1): 8-14.#Smirnoff, N. 1998. Plant resistance to environmental stress. Current Opinion in Biotechnology 9(2): 214-219.#Smirnoff, N. 2000. Ascorbic acid. Metabolism and functions of a multi-facetted molecule. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 3 (3): 229-235.#Taqi, A. K., Mazid, M. and Firoz, M. 2011. A review of ascorbic acid potentialities against oxidative stress induced in plants. Journal of Agrobiology 28 (2): 97-111.#Tardieu, F. 2012. Any trait or trait-related allele can confer drought tolerance: just design the right drought scenario. Journal of Experimental Botany 63 (1): 25-31.#Thalooth, M., Tawfik, M. and Magda Mohamed, H. 2006. A comparative study on the effect of foliar application of zinc, potassium and magnesium on growth, yield and some chemical constituents of mungbean plants growth under water stress conditions. World Journal of Agricultural Sciences 2: 37-46.#Xu, Q., Xu, X., Zhao, Y., Jiao, K., Herbert, S. J. and Hao, L. 2008. Salicylic acid, hydrogen peroxide and calcium induced saline tolerance associated with endogenous hydrogen peroxide homeostasis in naked oat seedlings. Plant Growth Regulation 54: 249-259.