@Article{phyton.2021.013588,
AUTHOR = {Zahoor Ahmad, Ejaz Ahmad Waraich, Muhammad Zia ur Rehman, Muhammad Ashar Ayub, Muhammad Usman, Hesham Alharby, Atif Bamagoos, Celaleddin Barutçular, Muhammad Ali Raza, Fatih Çiğ, Ayman El Sabagh},
TITLE = {Foliar Application of Phosphorus Enhances Photosynthesis and Biochemical Characteristics of Maize under Drought Stress},
JOURNAL = {Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany},
VOLUME = {90},
YEAR = {2021},
NUMBER = {2},
PAGES = {503--514},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/phyton/v90n2/41471},
ISSN = {1851-5657},
ABSTRACT = {Water is essential for the growth period of crops; however, water unavailability badly affects the growth and physiological attributes of crops, which considerably reduced the yield and yield components in crops. Therefore, a pot
experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of foliar phosphorus (P) on morphological, gas exchange, biochemical traits, and phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) of maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) hybrids grown under normal as well as water
deficit situations at the Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan in 2014. Two different
treatments (control and P @ 8 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>
) and four hybrids (Hycorn, 31P41, 65625, and 32B33) of maize were tested by
using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Results showed that the water stress caused
a remarkable decline in total soluble protein (9.7%), photosynthetic rate (9.4%) and transpiration rate (13.4%), stomatal
conductance (10.2%), and internal CO<sub>2</sub> rate (20.4%) comparative to well-watered control. An increase of 37.1%, 36.8%,
and 24.5% were recorded for proline, total soluble sugar, and total free amino acid, respectively. However, foliar P
application minimized the negative impact of drought by improving plant growth, physio-biochemical attributes,
and PUE in maize plants under water stress conditions. Among the hybrids tested, the hybrid 6525 performed better
both under stress and non-stress conditions. These outcomes confirmed that the exogenous application of P improved
drought stress tolerance by modulating growth, physio-biochemical attributes, and PUE of maize hybrids.},
DOI = {10.32604/phyton.2021.013588}
}