article · Atmosphere
Drought poses a severe threat to maize production, particularly across arid and semi-arid regions facing climate volatility. An evaluation of drought-tolerant and drought-susceptible maize varieties under mild and severe moisture deficits revealed the damage caused by water scarcity. Unmitigated drought reduced root and shoot lengths, biomass, leaf relative water content, gas exchange, and chlorophyll concentrations. Applying potassium sulphate as a foliar spray mitigated these negative impacts by supporting plant water relations and osmotic stability. Among the tested concentrations of zero, one, and two percent, the two percent spray delivered the strongest protective effect. Under severe drought conditions, this treatment increased leaf relative water content by ten percent, total chlorophyll by nine percent, and proline levels by twelve percent. These results show that targeted potassium sprays can help rainfed maize seedlings withstand substantial water deficits.
Maize is a staple crop for food security, yet recurring droughts frequently trigger crop failure in arid farming regions. Demonstrating that a straightforward foliar treatment can protect maize seedlings from water stress gives growers and agronomists an accessible method to preserve plant growth, protect photosynthetic function, and enhance resilience during low-rainfall periods.
This research provides applied evidence for fertiliser manufacturers, agrochemical suppliers, and extension services seeking low-cost drought mitigation products for rainfed maize farmers. The findings demonstrate seedling-level efficacy using standard potassium sulphate spray at a two percent concentration. The technology remains at an experimental testing stage, as field-scale validation across diverse environments and testing of alternative potassium formulations are still required before commercial agronomic protocols can be finalised.
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Changing climates and frequent spells of drought have increased the risk of crop failure, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, thus multiplying the vulnerability of food-insecure populations. The exogenous application of potassium (K) can potentially ameliorate the adverse effects of drought in maize by maintaining cell osmotic potential and turgidity, provided its optimum doses are applied. The present experiment comprised two maize cultivars, viz. Islamabad Gold (drought tolerant) and Azam (drought susceptible), grown under well-watered (80% water-holding capacity (WHC)), mild drought (60% WHC) and severe drought (40% WHC) conditions. Different doses of K, viz. 0%, 1% and 2%, were also tested to screen out the most superior concentration. Drought stress markedly reduced root and shoot lengths (25% and 16%, respectively) along with their dry weights (20% and 10%, respectively). Moreover, a substantial reduction in leaf relative water content (RWC) (24%), stomatal conductance, transpiration and photosynthesis rates, chlorophyll pigments a, b and total chlorophyll contents (31%) were recorded, compared with well-watered conditions. However, foliar application of K2SO4 at 2% concentration outperformed other doses by improving growth attributes, RWC (10%), total chlorophyll (9%) and proline (12%) under severe drought conditions. Our findings confirmed the effectiveness of foliage-applied K2SO4 in ameliorating drought effects in rainfed maize; however, more doses and sources of K could be tested for developing it as a potent source to cope with water stress.
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DOI: 10.3390/atmos12060663
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