Can Different Salt Formulations Revert the Depressing Effect of Salinity on Maize by Modulating Plant Biochemical Attributes and Activating Stress Regulators through Improved N Supply?

Syed Ayyaz Javed, Muhammad Saleem Arif, Sher Muhammad Shahzad, Muhammad Ashraf, Rizwana Kausar, Taimoor Hassan Farooq, M. Iftikhar Hussain and Awais Shakoor
Additional contact information
Syed Ayyaz Javed: Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Muhammad Saleem Arif: Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, GC University, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Sher Muhammad Shahzad: Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Muhammad Ashraf: Department of Soil Science, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan
Rizwana Kausar: Soil and Water Testing Laboratory for Research, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Taimoor Hassan Farooq: Bangor College China, a Joint Unit of Bangor University, Wales, UK and Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004, China
M. Iftikhar Hussain: Department of Plant Biology and Soil Science, University of Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain
Awais Shakoor: Department of Environment and Soil Sciences, University of Lleida, Avinguda Alcalde Rovira Roure 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 14, 1-16

Abstract: Salinity is a major constraint in improving agricultural productivity due to its adverse impact on various physiological and biochemical attributes of plants, and its effect on reducing nitrogen (N) use efficiency due to ion toxicity. To understand the relationship between sodium chloride (NaCl) and increased N application rates, a pot study was performed in which the ammonical (NH 4 + ) form of N was applied as urea to maize crops at different rates (control, 160, 186, 240, 267, 293, and 320 kg N ha −1 ) using two salinity levels (control and 10 dS m −1 NaCl). The results indicate that all biochemical and physiological attributes of the maize plant improved with increased concentration of N up to 293 kg ha −1 , compared to those in the control treatment. Similarly, the optimal N concentration regulated the activities of antioxidant enzymes, i.e., catalase activity (CAT), peroxidase activity (POD), and superoxide dismutases (SOD), and also increased the N use efficiencies of the maize crop up to 293 kg N ha −1 . Overall, our results show that the optimum level of N (293 kg ha −1 ) improved the salinity tolerance in the maize plant by activating stress coping physiological and biochemical mechanisms. This may have been due to the major role of N in the metabolic activity of plants and N assimilation enzymes activity such as nitrate reductase (NR) and nitrite reductase (NiR).

Keywords: sodium chloride; nitrogen levels; biochemical attributes; antioxidant enzymes; nitrogen use efficiencies; maize (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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