Artificial humic acid promotes growth of maize seedling under alkali conditions

Salinization of cropland is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting global agricultural sustainability, posing a serious threat to agricultural productivity and food security. Application of artificial humic acid (A-HA) as plant biostimulants has been increasingly attracting farmers and researchers. However, its regulation of seed germination and growth under alkali stress has rarely received attention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the response of maize (Zea mays L.) seed germination and seedling growth after the addition of A-HA. The effects of A-HA on seed germination, seedling growth, chlorophyll contents and osmoregulation substance under black and saline soil conditions were studied by soaking maize in solutions with and without various concentrations of A-HA. Artificial humic acid treatments significantly increased the seed germination index and dry weight of seedlings. The effects of maize root in absence and presence of A-HA under alkali stress were also evaluated using transcriptome sequencing. GO and KEGG analyzes were performed on differentially expressed genes, and the reliability of transcriptome data was verified by qPCR analysis. Results showed that A-HA significantly activated phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, oxidative phosphorylation pathways and plant hormone signal transduction. Moreover, Transcription factor analysis revealed that A-HA induced the expression of several transcription factors under alkali stress which had a regulatory effect on the alleviation of alkali damage in the root system. Overall, our results suggested that soaking seeds with A-HA can alleviate alkali accumulation and toxicity in maize, constituting a simple and effective strategy to mitigate saline toxicity. These results will provide new insights for the application of A-HA in management to reduce alkali-caused crop loss.