Abstract
Increasing drought stress resistance by exploiting crops’ potential is crucial for agricultural sustainable development. Alternate partial root-zone irrigation (PRI) shows some benefits in coping with drought stress, but there is limited information on physiological mechanism of crop in response to nitrogen supply patterns under alternate PRI. Therefore, we designed a rainproof-pond study to determine the effects of nitrogen supply methods on the physiological characteristics of maize (Zea mays L.) under alternate PRI. Two nitrogen fertilizer supply methods, including alternate nitrogen supply (AN) and conventional nitrogen supply (CN), were applied with alternate furrow irrigation (AI) and conventional furrow irrigation (CI), respectively. In addition, AIAN was applied in two ways, namely AIANS (supply of N fertilizer and irrigation water in a synchronized manner) and AIAND (supply of N fertilizer and irrigation water in a separate manner). Compared to CICN, AICN and AIANS enhanced leaf water use efficiency with a significant increase in transpiration rate, while photosynthetic rate was comparable. Also, compared to AIAND, the AIANS positively affected the most measured physiological characteristics. Greater leaf relative water content, chlorophyll and soluble protein content, and the activities of peroxidases and superoxide dismutase enzymes were found in AIANS and AICN. Moreover, the contents of malondialdehyde, proline, and soluble sugar decreased which can be attributed to enhanced root vitality in AICN and AIANS. Alternate furrow irrigation combined with conventional nitrogen supply or alternate synchronized nitrogen supply enhances the drought tolerance of maize by improving photosynthesis, antioxidant defense system, and osmoregulation.
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Abbreviations
- AI:
-
Alternate furrow irrigation
- CI:
-
Conventional furrow irrigation
- PRI:
-
Partial root-zone irrigation
- AN:
-
Alternate nitrogen supply
- CN:
-
Conventional nitrogen supply
- AIANS:
-
Supply of nitrogen fertilizer and irrigation water in a synchronized manner using the same furrow
- AIAND:
-
Supply of nitrogen fertilizer and irrigation water in separate manner using the different furrows
- MDA:
-
Malondialdehyde
- SOD:
-
Superoxide dismutase
- POD:
-
Peroxidases
- CAT:
-
Catalase
- RWC:
-
Relative water content
- P n :
-
Net photosynthetic rate
- T r :
-
Transpiration rate
- LAI:
-
Leaf area index
- CWP:
-
Crop water productivity
- WUE:
-
Water use efficiency
- ABA:
-
Abscisic acid
- DAP:
-
Days after planting
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the research grants from the National Natural Science Fund of China (51809006). The authors would like to thank all the reviewers who participated in the review and MJ Editor (www.mjeditor.com) for its linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript.
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Qi, D., Li, X., Pan, C. et al. Effect of Nitrogen Supply Methods on the Gas Exchange, Antioxidant Enzymatic Activities, and Osmoregulation of Maize (Zea mays L.) Under Alternate Partial Root-Zone Irrigation. J Soil Sci Plant Nutr 21, 2083–2095 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-021-00504-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-021-00504-1