Developing Functional Relationships between Soil Waterlogging and Corn Shoot and Root Growth and Development

Short- and long-term waterlogging conditions impact crop growth and development, preventing crops from reaching their true genetic potential. Two experiments were conducted using a pot-culture facility to better understand soil waterlogging impacts on corn growth and development. Two corn hybrids we...

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Main Authors: Charles Hunt Walne, K. Raja Reddy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-10-01
Series:Plants
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/10/2095
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author Charles Hunt Walne
K. Raja Reddy
author_facet Charles Hunt Walne
K. Raja Reddy
author_sort Charles Hunt Walne
collection DOAJ
description Short- and long-term waterlogging conditions impact crop growth and development, preventing crops from reaching their true genetic potential. Two experiments were conducted using a pot-culture facility to better understand soil waterlogging impacts on corn growth and development. Two corn hybrids were grown in 2017 and 2018 under ambient sunlight and temperature conditions. Waterlogging durations of 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 days were imposed at the V2 growth stage. Morphological (growth and development) and pigment estimation data were collected 15 days after treatments were imposed, 23 days after sowing. As waterlogging was imposed, soil oxygen rapidly decreased until reaching zero in about 8–10 days; upon the termination of the treatments, the oxygen levels recovered to the level of the 0 days treatment within 2 days. Whole-plant dry weight declined as the waterlogging duration increased, and after 2 days of waterlogging, a 44% and 27% decline was observed in experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Leaf area and root volume showed an exponential decay similar to the leaf and root dry weight. Leaf number and plant height were the least sensitive measured parameters and decreased linearly in both experiments. Root forks were the most sensitive parameter after 14 days of waterlogging in both experiments, declining by 83% and 80% in experiments 1 and 2, respectively. The data from this study improve our understanding of how corn plants react to increasing durations of waterlogging. In addition, the functional relationships generated from this study could enhance current corn simulation models for field applications.
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spelling doaj.art-b17ce60b24e54b6fb1d4c4178435b0c92023-11-22T19:43:41ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472021-10-011010209510.3390/plants10102095Developing Functional Relationships between Soil Waterlogging and Corn Shoot and Root Growth and DevelopmentCharles Hunt Walne0K. Raja Reddy1Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, 117 Dorman Hall, Box 9555, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USADepartment of Plant and Soil Sciences, 117 Dorman Hall, Box 9555, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USAShort- and long-term waterlogging conditions impact crop growth and development, preventing crops from reaching their true genetic potential. Two experiments were conducted using a pot-culture facility to better understand soil waterlogging impacts on corn growth and development. Two corn hybrids were grown in 2017 and 2018 under ambient sunlight and temperature conditions. Waterlogging durations of 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 days were imposed at the V2 growth stage. Morphological (growth and development) and pigment estimation data were collected 15 days after treatments were imposed, 23 days after sowing. As waterlogging was imposed, soil oxygen rapidly decreased until reaching zero in about 8–10 days; upon the termination of the treatments, the oxygen levels recovered to the level of the 0 days treatment within 2 days. Whole-plant dry weight declined as the waterlogging duration increased, and after 2 days of waterlogging, a 44% and 27% decline was observed in experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Leaf area and root volume showed an exponential decay similar to the leaf and root dry weight. Leaf number and plant height were the least sensitive measured parameters and decreased linearly in both experiments. Root forks were the most sensitive parameter after 14 days of waterlogging in both experiments, declining by 83% and 80% in experiments 1 and 2, respectively. The data from this study improve our understanding of how corn plants react to increasing durations of waterlogging. In addition, the functional relationships generated from this study could enhance current corn simulation models for field applications.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/10/2095cornfloodingfunctional relationshipsmaizemodelingroot growth
spellingShingle Charles Hunt Walne
K. Raja Reddy
Developing Functional Relationships between Soil Waterlogging and Corn Shoot and Root Growth and Development
Plants
corn
flooding
functional relationships
maize
modeling
root growth
title Developing Functional Relationships between Soil Waterlogging and Corn Shoot and Root Growth and Development
title_full Developing Functional Relationships between Soil Waterlogging and Corn Shoot and Root Growth and Development
title_fullStr Developing Functional Relationships between Soil Waterlogging and Corn Shoot and Root Growth and Development
title_full_unstemmed Developing Functional Relationships between Soil Waterlogging and Corn Shoot and Root Growth and Development
title_short Developing Functional Relationships between Soil Waterlogging and Corn Shoot and Root Growth and Development
title_sort developing functional relationships between soil waterlogging and corn shoot and root growth and development
topic corn
flooding
functional relationships
maize
modeling
root growth
url https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/10/2095
work_keys_str_mv AT charleshuntwalne developingfunctionalrelationshipsbetweensoilwaterloggingandcornshootandrootgrowthanddevelopment
AT krajareddy developingfunctionalrelationshipsbetweensoilwaterloggingandcornshootandrootgrowthanddevelopment