Comparing the Role of Mineral Fertilizer, Organic Fertilizer and Rhizobacteria as Bio-fertilizers in Increasing the Tolerance of Maize Plants (Zea mays L.) to Water Stress
Ahmad Nassif *
Department of Soil and Water Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Tishreen University, Latakia, Syria.
Yaser Hammad
Department of Soil and Water Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Tishreen University, Latakia, Syria.
Jihad Ibrahim
Department of Soil and Water Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Tishreen University, Latakia, Syria.
Majd Darwish
Crop Department, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Tishreen University, Lattakia, Syria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The research aimed to study the possibility of reducing the effect of water stress (1200, 800, 400 mbar) as Ѱ1, Ѱ2, Ѱ3, on yellow maize plants by using 8 rhizobacteria (B8) as biofertilizers (B8 Ѱ 1, B8 Ѱ 2, B8 Ѱ 3) and to compare it with mineral (M Ѱ1, M Ѱ2, M Ѱ3) and organic fertilizers (O Ѱ1, O Ѱ2, O Ѱ3). The research was carried out during the year 2021-2022 in the village of Al-Hanadi in Latakia Governorate. Yellow corn, Ghouta 82, was planted in experimental plots according to a randomized complete block design with three replications
The results showed a decrease in the growth and production of yellow maize plants in all treatments with increasing water stress, accompanied by an increase in the leaf content of total phenolics, proline and peroxidase activity. The plants treated with the B8 biofertilizer maintained the best growth and production with significant differences compared to mineral, organic and control fertilization. At the highest level of water stress Ѱ3, B8 biofertilizer achieved a production of 6.35 tons/ha compared to (2.1, 3.5, 4.8 tons/ha) for mineral fertilization, organic fertilization and control, respectively, i.e. an increase of 32.3% over the control, 81.4% increase over organic fertilization and 202.4% increase over mineral fertilization.
Maize plants treated with B8 biofertilizer significantly outperformed the other treatments in leaf phenolics content and peroxidase activity at the applied water stress levels, and maintained a balanced proline content between 1.7-2.06 μg/g fresh weight and less than the control. The highest leaf phenolics content was 65.5 mg/100 g fresh weight and peroxidase activity was 0.321 μmol/g due to B8Ѱ3 treatment.
We conclude that B8 biofertilizers increased phenolic content and peroxidase enzyme activity in maize leaves and consequently stimulated systemic resistance and reduced the effect of water stress, which was positively reflected on plant growth and productivity. thus, the possibility of using rhizobacteria as effective B8 biofertilizers in stimulating the resistance of maize (Ghota 82) to water stress, stimulating growth and increasing production.
Keywords: Maize, productivity, biofertilizers, water stress, peroxidase, phenolics, proline, PGPR rhizobacteria