Abstract
Soil salinity is one of the serious problems which posing severe threat to ecosystems
under different environmental conditions throughout the world. Salinity is drastically
affecting the productivity of agronomic crops particularly maize. Maize grain, being a
rich source of protein, is a quality food for humans and healthy green fodder for
animals. Experiment under randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four
repetitions was conducted at Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences (non-saline
soil) and Proka Research Farm (saline soil), University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.
Two maize genotypes (EV-78 and KS-64) were selected for their comparative
performance under salt-affected and normal soil conditions. Physiological, growth and
yield parameters of maize genotypes were significantly influenced under salt affected
and normal soils. Under saline conditions, genotype EV-78 showed tolerant behavior
as compared to genotype KS-64 because genotype EV-78 produced higher shoot fresh
and dry weights, 100-grain weight and grain yield per hectare. Physiological parameters
including photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, sub-stomatal CO2 concentration and
stomatal conductance were also less affected in genotype EV-78 under saline soil
conditions. Under non-saline soil condition, genotype EV-78 accumulated more
potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen whereas concentrations of sodium and chloride
were reduced. While genotype EV-78 accumulated higher concentrations of sodium
and chloride under saline soil conditions. Genotype KS-64 showed more sensitive
behavior to saline environment regarding economical yield.
Hafiz Muhammad Ali Raza, Muhammad Saqib, Saeed Ahmad, , Sohail Irshad, Shahbaz Khan, Ali Bukhsh, Muhammad Ashfaq Wahid, Muhammad Iftikhar Bashir. (2019) Evaluation of genotypic behavior of maize under normal and salt affected soils, Asian Journal of Agriculture and Biology, Volume 7, Issue 4.
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