Abstract
Maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes i.e. S-2002 (salt tolerant) and Akbar (salt sensitive) were grown under natural
saline field condition to study the effect of salinity and potassium nutrition on protein contents, total soluble
sugars, oil contents, crude fiber of the maize grains, proline and 1000 grain weight. The salinity level of the field
was 9.95-10.60 dS m-1 and the original K concentration of the soil was 70-85.50 mg kg-1 and this level was kept
as control. The experiment was triplicated and N P were applied @ 200:150 kg ha-1 and the potassium fertilizer
was applied @ 200 kg ha-1. At maturity grains were collected and the above mentioned biochemical parameters
were studied. Salinity had deleterious effect on all the parameters in maize genotype Akbar while in most of cases
the S-2002 had maximum levels while the application of K not only improved the yield but also improved the
recovery of total soluble sugars (%) (TSS), proteins (%), oil contents (%) as well as 1000 grain weight, crude fiber
(%) except proline contents.
