Effect of Foliar Application of Silicon Dioxide on Yield of Maize (Zea mays L.) under Different Water Regimes

Abstract

Maize is one of the most significant cereal crops of the world. Water shortage has damaging effects on food production. Efficient water utilization for crops appears to be quite effective in the current situation of water scarcity. Application of nutrients (Plant Growth Regulators) which increase tolerance to water stress can mitigate the negative effects of water stress. Among the plant growth regulators silicon can increase the tolerance in maize plant for water scarcity. Silicon minimizes the effect of water stress on maize crop particularly at reproductive stage. To evaluate the effect of silicon on yield of maize field experiment was conducted during 2021 at Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. The experiment was comprised of water stress conditions: no water stress, water stress at 5 leaf stage and water stress at milking stage and levels of foliar application of silicon: no spray, spray @ 40 mgL^-1Si, 80 mgL^-1Si, 100 mgL^-1Si. Randomized complete block design (RCBD) with split plot arrangement was used consisting of three replications. Data of growth, physiology, yield and yield attributes were recorded. The data was analyzed by using Fisher's Analysis of variance technique. The results of present study indicated water stress applied at milking stage significantly reduced the yield characters including cobs per plant, grains and grain rows per cob, grain weight (g), biological yield (t/ha), economical yield (t/ha) and harvest index (%). The foliar applied silicon @ 80mgL^-1 significantly increased the yield and yield characters.