Lamlom Sobhi F, Abdelghany Ahmed M, Ren Honglei, Ali Hayssam M, Usman Muhammad, Shaghaleh Hiba, Alhaj Hamoud Yousef, El-Sorady Gawhara A
Plant Production Department, Faculty of Agriculture Saba Basha, Alexandria University, Alexandria, 21531, Egypt.
Crop Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Damanhour University, Damanhour, 22516, Egypt.
Heliyon. 2024 Jul 25;10(15):e35118. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e35118. eCollection 2024 Aug 15.
Maize is an economically vital cereal crop. However, water deficiency can severely impact its productivity. Thus, it is necessary to implement an essential approach to increase maize yield while navigating the limitations imposed by scarce water supplies. The present study aimed to investigate whether foliar applications of silicon (Si) and zinc (Zn) could mitigate the adverse effects of water deficiency and improve maize growth and yield. Field experiments were conducted in Egypt during two growing seasons (2021-2022) under three irrigation regimes: full irrigation (ET0), moderate stress (ET1), and severe stress (ET2). The treatments comprised foliar sprays of Si, Zn, Si + Zn, and water control. Phenological, growth, physiological, chemical, and yield-related traits were assessed. Results showed that adequate irrigation (ET0) enhanced most parameters compared to water stress treatments. Under ET0, the combined silicon and zinc treatment resulted in the highest values for plant height, leaf area, chlorophyll content, grains per ear, kernel weight, ear size, and yield compared to other foliar treatments. Under drought stress (ET1, ET2), Si + Zn applications maintained superiority in mitigating yield losses. Proline accumulation was highest under severe stress (ET2) in the absence of foliar sprays, indicating greater drought impacts. Correlation analysis revealed positive associations of grain yield with ear size, leaf area, kernel weight, and biological yield. Cluster analysis separated irrigation regimes and visualized the consistently beneficial effects of Si + Zn across all water levels. Overall, the results demonstrate the synergistic potential of Si and Zn supplementation to sustain maize performance and yields under varying water availability.
玉米是一种具有重要经济价值的谷类作物。然而，水分亏缺会严重影响其产量。因此，有必要采取一种关键方法来提高玉米产量，同时应对稀缺水资源带来的限制。本研究旨在调查叶面喷施硅（Si）和锌（Zn）是否能减轻水分亏缺的不利影响，并改善玉米的生长和产量。在埃及的两个生长季节（2021 - 2022年），在三种灌溉制度下进行了田间试验：充分灌溉（ET0）、中度胁迫（ET1）和重度胁迫（ET2）。处理包括叶面喷施Si、Zn、Si + Zn和水分对照。对物候、生长、生理、化学和产量相关性状进行了评估。结果表明，与水分胁迫处理相比，充分灌溉（ET0）提高了大多数参数。在ET0条件下，与其他叶面处理相比，硅和锌组合处理的株高、叶面积、叶绿素含量、每穗粒数、粒重、穗大小和产量最高。在干旱胁迫（ET1、ET2）下，施用Si + Zn在减轻产量损失方面保持优势。在没有叶面喷施的情况下，脯氨酸积累在重度胁迫（ET2）下最高，表明干旱影响更大。相关性分析揭示了籽粒产量与穗大小、叶面积、粒重和生物产量之间存在正相关。聚类分析将灌溉制度分开，并直观显示了Si + Zn在所有水分水平下始终具有的有益效果。总体而言，结果表明补充Si和Zn具有协同潜力，可在不同水分条件下维持玉米的性能和产量。
