Gas exchange and chlorophyll synthesis of maize cultivars are enhanced by exogenously-applied glycinebetaine under drought conditions
2011
Anjum, S.A.,Southwest Univ., Chongqing (China). Coll. of Agronomy and Biotechnology | Farooq, M.,University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (Pakistan). Dept. of Agronomy | Wang, L.C.,Southwest Univ., Chongqing (China). Coll. of Agronomy and Biotechnology | Xue, L.L.,Southwest Univ., Chongqing (China). Coll. of Agronomy and Biotechnology | Wang, S.G.,Southwest Univ., Chongqing (China). Coll. of Agronomy and Biotechnology | Wang, L.,Southwest Univ., Chongqing (China). Coll. of Agronomy and Biotechnology | Zhang, S.,Southwest Univ., Chongqing (China). Coll. of Agronomy and Biotechnology | Chen, M.,Southwest Univ., Chongqing (China). Coll. of Agronomy and Biotechnology
Glycinebetaine (GB) was exogenously-applied to two contrasting maize cultivars, Dongdan-60 and ND-95, to see whether GB improves drought resistance of maize plants. Maize cultivars were grown with normal water supply till the heading stage and then exposed to two levels of soil moisture, well-watered control and drought-stressed. GB solution of 100 mmol was foliar-applied five days after moisture treatments. The gas exchange and chlorophyll concentration decreased substantially in both cultivars under water stressed conditions. However, this reduction was less pronounced in Dongdan-60 than in ND-95. Nonetheless, GB-treated plants considerably maintained higher gas exchange rate and chlorophyll concentration during drought stress than non-GB treated plants. The GB-induced improvement in gas exchange and chlorophyll synthesis under water stress ultimately resulted in improved growth and yield in both maize cultivars. Furthermore, the positive responses to exogenous GB application were more pronounced in Dongdan-60 than in ND-95 in all traits examined under water-deficit conditions. In conclusion, exogenously applied GB to maize crops could improve gas exchange, chlorophyll synthesis, growth and yield of maize.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by Library of Antonin Svehla