Induction of salinity tolerance in maize (Zea Mays L.) by exogenous application of ascorbic acid and gibberellic acid

The present research study was conducted at the Department of Botany, University of Sargodha, Pakistan to evaluate the performance of two maize varieties under various salinity levels and mitigate the drastic impacts of salinity under the influence of combined and single foliar applications of ascorbic acid and gibberellic acid. Ten seeds of each variety were placed in a pot of each replicate of every treatment. Seeds of two maize varieties were collected from the research institute "Maize and Millet Institute Yousafwala, Sahiwal". Various attributes of maize varieties, including morphology, physiology, biochemical and nutritional properties, at both the vegetative and reproductive growth stages were evaluated under salt stress and with applications of growth promoters, i.e., ascorbic acid and gibberellic acid. The Sahiwal-2002 performed better than the Akbar in terms of all the parameters under consideration. These findings confirmed that the Sahiwal-2002 has greater salt tolerance potential than Akbar does. Salinity stress drastically reduced the growth and yield of both maize varieties by decreasing their physiological performance and biochemical contents. Therefore, various applications of ascorbic acid and gibberellic acid have been applied as foliar sprays to mitigate the negative effects of salinity on maize varieties at the vegetative and reproductive growth stages. Among all the treatments, at the vegetative stage, foliar application of a combination of ascorbic acid and gibberellic acid (120 ppm and 110 ppm) ameliorated the negative effects of salinity stress on maize crops and can be used to increase the vegetative growth and plant density of maize varieties with improved and stabilized nutritional contents. The sodium level increased with increasing salinity. At the reproductive stage, foliar application of a combination of ascorbic acid and gibberellic acid (240 ppm and 220 ppm) ameliorates the negative effects of salinity stress on maize crops and can be used to increase the growth and yield of maize varieties with improved and stabilized nutritional contents.