Water is essential for the growth period of crops; however, water unavailability badly affects the growth and physiological attributes of crops, which considerably reduced the yield and yield components in crops. Therefore, a pot
experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of foliar phosphorus (P) on morphological, gas exchange, biochemical traits, and phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) of maize (
Zea mays L.) hybrids grown under normal as well as water
deficit situations at the Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan in 2014. Two different
treatments (control and P @ 8 kg ha
−1
) and four hybrids (Hycorn, 31P41, 65625, and 32B33) of maize were tested by
using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Results showed that the water stress caused
a remarkable decline in total soluble protein (9.7%), photosynthetic rate (9.4%) and transpiration rate (13.4%), stomatal
conductance (10.2%), and internal CO
2 rate (20.4%) comparative to well-watered control. An increase of 37.1%, 36.8%,
and 24.5% were recorded for proline, total soluble sugar, and total free amino acid, respectively. However, foliar P
application minimized the negative impact of drought by improving plant growth, physio-biochemical attributes,
and PUE in maize plants under water stress conditions. Among the hybrids tested, the hybrid 6525 performed better
both under stress and non-stress conditions. These outcomes confirmed that the exogenous application of P improved
drought stress tolerance by modulating growth, physio-biochemical attributes, and PUE of maize hybrids.
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