article · Frontiers in Plant Science
Salinity and drought stress severely limit crop growth and physiological processes, reducing agricultural productivity. A two-season field study evaluated foliar silicon supplementation on three maize cultivars grown under trickle irrigation with three levels of water salinity. Researchers tested silicon at rates of one and two kilograms per hectare across saline irrigation treatments containing 1000, 2000, and 3000 milligrams of sodium chloride per litre. Applying silicon significantly alleviated the harmful impacts of salinity across all growth and yield components. While the highest salinity level decreased grain yield by over 32 percent, foliar silicon applied at two kilograms per hectare counteracted this yield loss by more than 36 percent. The cultivar ES81 displayed the highest tolerance to saline water, and two kilograms of silicon per hectare consistently proved the most effective treatment for maintaining maize performance under saline irrigation conditions.
Saline irrigation water increasingly threatens cereal production, lowering harvest yields in vulnerable agricultural areas. Demonstrating that a foliar silicon spray can counteract salinity damage offers a straightforward agronomic intervention. This knowledge helps growers sustain maize yields in regions reliant on low-quality, saline irrigation, supporting broader food security objectives.
This research provides applied and field-tested evidence for agrochemical suppliers and maize growers seeking practical methods to counteract saline water stress. Foliar silicon applied via existing spray systems represents a directly usable crop management input. Because the intervention was validated in real field conditions, it is close to adoption, though local formulations and agronomic guidance would need to be adapted for specific farming operations.
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Drought and salinity stress severely inhibits the growth and productivity of crop plants by limiting their physiological processes. Silicon (Si) supplementation is considerd as one of the promising approaches to alleviate abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity. In the present study, a field experiment was conducted over two successive growth seasons (2019-20) to investigate the effect of foliar application of Si at two concentrations (1 and 2 kg Si ha<sup>-1</sup>) on the growth, yield and physiological parameters of three maize cultivars (ES81, ES83, and ES90) under three levels of irrigation salinity) [1000 (WS<sub>1</sub>), 2000 (WS<sub>2</sub>) and 3000 (WS<sub>3</sub>) mg L<sup>-1</sup>NaCl]. In this study, A trickle irrigation system was used. Si application significantly mitigated the harsh effects of salinity on growth and yield components of maize, which increased at all concentrations of Si. In irrigation with S3 salinity treatment, grain yield was decreased by 32.53%, however, this reduction was alleviated (36.19%) with the exogenous foliar application of Si at 2 kg Si ha<sup>-1</sup>. At salinity levels, Si application significantly increased maize grain yield (t ha<sup>-1</sup>) to its maximum level under WS of 1000 mg L<sup>-1</sup>, and its minimum level (Add value) under WS of 3000 mg L<sup>-1</sup>. Accordingly, the highest grain yield increased under Si application of 2 kg Si ha<sup>-1</sup>, regardless of salinity level and the cultivar ES81 achieved the highest level of tolerance against water salinity treatments. In conclusion, Application of Si at 2 kg Si ha<sup>-1</sup> as foliar treatment worked best as a supplement for alleviating the adverse impacts of irrigation water salinity on the growth, physiological and yield parameters of maize.
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DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.953451
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