Melatonin and KNO(3) Application Improves Growth, Physiological and Biochemical Characteristics of Maize Seedlings under Waterlogging Stress Conditions

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Waterlogging is one of the serious abiotic stresses that retards plant growth and reduces crop productivity. Therefore, exploring effective ways for alleviating the impacts of waterlogging stress has important theoretical and practical applications. Melatonin is a pleiotropic molecule that influences many diverse actions to enhance plant growth. Therefore, investigating efficient waterlogging mitigation measures has both theoretical and practical significance. The objectives of the present research were to examine the efficiency of melatonin and KNO(3) seed soaking and foliar application on alleviating the waterlogging inhibited growth performance of maize seedlings. The results showed that melatonin and KNO(3) significantly improved the plant growth and biochemical parameters of maize seedlings under waterlogging stress conditions. Overall, the application of 100 µM melatonin with 0.50 g KNO(3) via seed soaking and foliar spray can be used as a potential mitigating strategy for improving the growth of maize seedlings and alleviating the ill effects of waterlogging stress. ABSTRACT: Waterlogging is one of the serious abiotic stresses that inhibits crop growth and reduces productivity. Therefore, investigating efficient waterlogging mitigation measures has both theoretical and practical significance. The objectives of the present research were to examine the efficiency of melatonin and KNO(3) seed soaking and foliar application on alleviating the waterlogging inhibited growth performance of maize seedlings. In this study, 100 µM melatonin and different levels (0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 g) of potassium nitrate (KNO(3)) were used in seed soaking and foliar applications. For foliar application, treatments were applied at the 7th leaf stage one week after the imposition of waterlogging stress. The results showed that melatonin with KNO(3) significantly improved the plant growth and biochemical parameters of maize seedlings under waterlogging stress conditions. However, the application of melatonin with KNO(3) treatments increased plant growth characteristics, chlorophyll content, and the net photosynthetic rate at a variable rate under waterlogging stress. Furthermore, melatonin with KNO(3) treatments significantly reduced the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) and malondialdehyde (MDA), and it decreased the activity of pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase, while increasing enzymatic activities and soluble protein content of maize seedlings under waterlogging stress conditions. Overall, our results indicated that seed soaking with 100 µM melatonin and 0.50 g KNO(3) was the most effective treatment that significantly improved the plant growth characteristics, chlorophyll content, photosynthetic rate, and enzymatic activity of maize seedling under waterlogging conditions.