Browsing by Person "Shehzad, Muhammad Asif"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Foliar humic acid and salicylic acid application stimulates physiological responses and antioxidant systems to improve maize yield under water limitations
(2023) Altaf, Adnan; Nawaz, Fahim; Majeed, Sadia; Ahsan, Muhammad; Ahmad, Khawaja Shafique; Akhtar, Gulzar; Shehzad, Muhammad Asif; Javeed, Hafiz Muhammad Rashad; Farman, Muhammad
Background: Humic acid (HA) is an organic acid that is naturally present in soil organic matter and improves nutrient availability and the mechanisms involved in plant growth and development. Likewise, salicylic acid (SA) is an important plant hormone involved in the regulation of plant growth and development. A pot experiment was carried out to determine the effects of individual or combined HA and SA application on growth and yield of maize (Zea mays L.) under drought stress conditions. Two maize hybrids, namely, 30T60 (drought tolerant) and 75S75 (drought sensitive), were grown in semi-controlled conditions and foliar applied with SA (1 mM), HA (100 mg L1 ) and their combination (HA + SA). The plants were exposed to drought stress at the tasseling stage (R1, 60 days after sowing) for 2 weeks, while control plants were given normal irrigation. Results: The results showed that HA and SA applications significantly enhanced the gas exchange characteristics (photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and stomatal conduc- tance), and antioxidant activity (catalase, guaiacol peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase) of water stressed maize plants. Foliar SA spray significantly increased the photosynthetic efficiency and activity of enzymatic antioxidants closely followed by HA + SA applica- tion that ultimately improved the yield and net benefit cost ratio of maize under water deficit conditions. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that foliar spraying of SA at the initiation of the repro- ductive stage is a cost-effective strategy to obtain a high maize yield under limited water conditions.
Physiological insights into sulfate and selenium interaction to improve drought tolerance in mung bean
(2021) Aqib, Muhammad; Nawaz, Fahim; Majeed, Sadia; Ghaffar, Abdul; Ahmad, Khawaja Shafique; Shehzad, Muhammad Asif; Tahir, Muhammad Naeem; Aurangzaib, Muhammad; Javeed, Hafiz Muhammad Rashad; Habib-ur-Rahman, Muhammad; Usmani, Muhammad Munir
The present study involved two pot experiments to investigate the response of mung bean to the individual or combined SO42− and selenate application under drought stress. A marked increment in biomass and NPK accumulation was recorded in mung bean seedlings fertilized with various SO42− sources, except for CuSO4. Compared to other SO42− fertilizers, ZnSO4 application resulted in the highest increase in growth attributes and shoot nutrient content. Further, the combined S and Se application (S + Se) significantly enhanced relative water content (16%), SPAD value (72%), photosynthetic rate (80%) and activities of catalase (79%), guaiacol peroxidase (53%) and superoxide dismutase (58%) in the leaves of water-stressed mung bean plants. Consequently, the grain yield of mung bean was markedly increased by 105% under water stress conditions. Furthermore, S + Se application considerably increased the concentrations of P (47%), K (75%), S (80%), Zn (160%), and Fe (15%) in mung bean seeds under drought stress conditions. These findings indicate that S + Se application potentially increases the nutritional quality of grain legumes by stimulating photosynthetic apparatus and antioxidative machinery under water deficit conditions. Our results could provide the basis for further experiments on cross-talk between S and Se regulatory pathways to improve the nutritional quality of food crops.
Silicon seed priming combined with foliar spray of sulfur regulates photosynthetic and antioxidant systems to confer drought tolerance in maize (Zea mays L.)
(2021) Farman, Muhammad; Nawaz, Fahim; Majeed, Sadia; Javeed, Hafiz Muhammad Rashad; Ahsan, Muhammad; Ahmad, Khawaja Shafique; Aurangzaib, Muhammad; Bukhari, Muhammad Adnan; Shehzad, Muhammad Asif; Hussain, Muhammad Baqir
The present study evaluated the effect of silicon (Si) seed priming and sulfur (S) foliar spray on drought tolerance of two contrasting maize hybrids viz. drought tolerant Hi-Corn 11 and susceptible P-1574. The maize seeds were primed with (3 mM Na2SiO3) or without Si (hydropriming) and later sown in pots filled with sandy loam soil. Drought stress (25–30% water holding capacity or WHC) was initiated at cob development stage (V5) for two weeks, whereas the well-watered plants were grown at 65–70% WHC. On appearance of drought symptoms, foliar spray of S was done using 0.5% and 1.0% (NH4)2SO4, whereas water spray was used as a control. The drought-stressed plants were grown for further two weeks at 25–30% WHC before the final harvest. The results showed a marked effect of Si seed priming and foliar S spray on biomass, physiological and enzymatic processes as well as macronutrient concentrations of maize. In comparison to control, the highest increase in leaf relative water content (25%), chlorophyll a content (56%), carotenoids (26%), photosynthetic rate (64%), stomatal conductance (56%) and intercellular CO2 concentration (48%) was observed by Si seed priming + S foliar spray (Si + S) under water deficit conditions. Also, Si + S application stimulated the activity of catalase (45%), guaiacol peroxidase (38%) and superoxide dismutase (55%), and improved NPK concentrations (40–63%) under water limitations. Our results suggest that Si seed priming + foliar spray of S is more effective than the individual application of these nutrients to enhance drought tolerance in maize.
Sulfate-based fertilizers regulate nutrient uptake, photosynthetic gas exchange, and enzymatic antioxidants to increase sunflower growth and yield under drought stress
(2021) Shafiq, Bilal Ahamid; Nawaz, Fahim; Majeed, Sadia; Aurangzaib, Muhammad; Al Mamun, Abdullah; Ahsan, Muhammad; Ahmad, Khawaja Shafique; Shehzad, Muhammad Asif; Ali, Muqarrab; Hashim, Sarfraz; ul Haq, Tanveer
The challenging impact of drought to agricultural productivity requires the adoption of mitigation strategies with a better understanding of underlying mechanisms responsible for drought tolerance. The present study aimed at investigating the effects of sulfur-based fertilizers on mitigation of drought stress in sunflower. Sulfate-containing fertilizers, viz., ammonium sulfate, zinc sulfate, magnesium sulfate, potassium sulfate, and gypsum, were initially evaluated at two different rates (10 and 20 mg kg−1 soil equivalent to 20 and 40 kg ha−1, respectively) for nutrient uptake and growth-promoting traits in sunflower seedlings (cv. Hysun-33). The best performing fertilizer (gypsum) was then selected to evaluate the response of sunflower under drought stress imposed at flowering stage for three weeks (25–30% water holding capacity). Results indicated significant amelioration of drought stress with higher activity of photosynthetic apparatus, upregulation of antioxidative enzymes, and increased achene yield by gypsum application. In comparison to control, gypsum-treated plants (20 mg kg−1 soil) exhibited higher water status (32%), leaf photosynthetic rate (29%), transpiration rate (67%), and stomatal conductance (118%) under drought stress. The antioxidant enzyme activities of catalase, guaiacol peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase were also increased by 67%, 62%, and 126%, respectively, resulting in higher achene yield (19%) under water-deficit conditions. This study indicates that the application of sulfur-based fertilizers (gypsum) can be used to induce drought tolerance and obtain high sunflower yields under drought stress, and furthermore, it is a cost-effective strategy resulting in high benefit–cost ratio with respect to no gypsum application.