Effects of biostimulants on the growth and yield of maize (Zea mays L.) under artificial drought condition
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Abstract
The study clarifies the effectiveness of biostimulants in enhancing the water and nutrient absorption capacity of maize under drought conditions. The experiment was executed in a plastic house at Nong Lam University, Ho Chi Minh City, to determine the effect of foliar-applied biostimulants on maize growth, development, and yield under well-watered and artificially induced drought stress conditions. The two-factor experiment included 10 treatments and was arranged in a split-plot design with three replications. The main-plot factor included moisture contents of 35 and 90%, and the sub-plot factor involved four biostimulants Agroptim (2 L/ha), C-Weed 50 (1 L/ha), Elevate (2 L/ha), Proplex (1 L/ha), and water (control). The results showed that biostimulants significantly affected the growth, leaf area, leaf area index, and biomass of maize under drought stress. In contrast, when plants were well-watered, biostimulants had a negligible effect. The actual yield of maize that applied biostimulants ranged from 383.6 to 557.1 kg/1,000 m² under 35% moisture content (increased by 33.8 to 207.3 kg compared to the control) and from 769.3 to 903.1 kg/1,000 m² under 90% moisture content (increased by 43.4 - 117.2 kg compared to the control). Application of the biostimulants Proplex and Agroptim on maize resulted in higher growth parameters, leading to greater values for fresh ear weight (138,17 and 153,15 g/ear); yield (704,28 and 800,95 kg/1,000 m2) compared to the application of Elevate and C-Weed 50.
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References
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