Waterlogging Stress in Maize: Analyzing Biochemical Responses and Root Trait Adaptations

Abstract

Maize holds significant economic importance as a cereal crop on a global scale. Among several abiotic stresses,
waterlogging poses a substantial challenge in attainment of potential crop yield. To recognize inbred lines that
exhibit resilience to waterlogging, it is crucial to gain insights into the fundamental mechanisms and effects of
waterlogging stress on various morphological, physiological and biochemical traits. The present study was carried out to identify waterlogging tolerant inbred lines using a set of 86 inbred lines for six and nine days of water
logging stress at V 3-4 stage along with control. The results indicate that under increasing waterlogging stress,
notable decrease in germination percentage, chlorophyll content and root traits viz., root length, root area, and
root volume were observed. However, in the case of tolerant genotypes, the percentage reduction in these traits
compared to the control was lower than in the susceptible ones. Both fresh and dry weights of roots and shoots
exhibited a reduction compared to control; however, the tolerant genotypes displayed the least reduction, while
the susceptible genotypes experienced a sharp reduction. Also, the chlorophyll content experienced the least
reduction in tolerant genotypes as waterlogging stress increased. To validate the identified lines, a subset of 13
lines shown to be tolerant or susceptible were selected based on various experiments performed and then these
lines were subjected to biochemical analysis viz., superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, ascorbic acid and
tocopherol content. Tolerant genotypes viz., I 185, I 172 and SE 616 exhibited higher enzyme activity and antioxidant content, compared to susceptible genotypes.