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Field Performance of Abscisic Acid‐Induced Flood‐Tolerant Corn
Author(s) -
VanToai Tara T.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.76
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1435-0653
pISSN - 0011-183X
DOI - 10.2135/cropsci1993.0011183x003300020028x
Subject(s) - abscisic acid , biology , agronomy , transplanting , poaceae , flooding (psychology) , horticulture , botany , seedling , psychology , biochemistry , gene , psychotherapist
Abscisic acid (ABA) applicantions can improve plant resistance to stresses such as cold, drought, and salinity. Treatment of corn ( Zea mays L.) with ABA was previously shown to increase flooding survival 10‐fold. The long‐term effects of ABA treatment and flooding stress on growth and productivity have not been documented. In this study, ABA‐treated corn seedlings that survived a flooding stress in the laboratory were transplanted to the field and their growth and seed yield compared with those of nonflooded plants. While ABA treatment had no effect on nonflooded plants, ABA‐treated plants recovered from the flooding stress more quickly than plants not receiving ABA. At 4 wks after transplanting, ABA‐treated, flooded plants were as tall as nonflooded plants (56.03 ± 1.85 cm), while flooded plants that received no ABA Pretreatment were 22% shorter (43.70 ± 2.3 cm). Abscisic acid treatment and flooding did not have any long‐term effects on plant senescence. At the end of the growing season, no differences were detected in leaf chlorophyll content among the treatments. Grain yields of the surviving plants were also similar among all treatments. According to the results, ABA treatment at 100 (μ M improved the flooding survival of corn seedlings 10‐fold, without any deleterious effects of subsequent growth, senescence, or productivity of corn plants. This research contributes to the understanding of the physiological mechanism by which ABA enhances the flooding tolerance in corn.