Study of morpho-physiological traits in maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes with environmental stress indices

To evaluate some agrophysiological traits to identify salt tolerance in maize, eight different maize genotypes differing in yield performance were evaluated using an RCBD design in two different environments: one with normal soil and the other with saline soil. During the experiment, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, leaf relative water content (LRWC), proline content, stress tolerance (TOL), stress tolerance index (STI), stress susceptibility index (SSI), and yield stability index (YSI) were evaluated. The results of the experiment showed that there were significant differences between locations (normal and saline) and genotypes for most traits. Comparison of traits at different salinity levels showed that there were significant differences between genotypes for most traits. Proline content increased with increasing soil salinity. Na+ accumulation in leaves increased sharply with increasing salinity, with the greatest accumulation observed in S.C۷۰۴. The highest amount of chlorophyll a under normal conditions was observed at S.C۷۰۴. Positive correlations were observed between chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b under normal and stress conditions. Genotypes SC۳۰۱, SC۷۰۴ and SC۵۴۰ showed the highest levels of TOL and SSI. Genotypes KSC۶۴۷ and SC۶۰۴ showed the highest value for YSI (۰.۶۲۷ and ۰.۵۷۸, respectively).

Keywords:

Salinity , Proline , maize , Chlorophyll , Stress tolerance