Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Putative Mechanisms of Drought Tolerance in Maize (Zea mays L.) via Root System Architecture Traits

A. M. M. Al-Naggar, M. M. Shafik, M. O. A. Elsheikh

Annual Research & Review in Biology · pp. 1–19 · Published 28 Jun 2019

10.9734/arrb/2019/v32i230079

Abstract

Identifying maize genotypes with favorable root architecture traits for drought tolerance is prerequisite for initiating a successful breeding program for developing high yielding and drought tolerant varieties of maize. The aims of the present study were: (i) to identify drought tolerant genotypes of maize at flowering and grain filling, (ii) to interpret the correlations between the drought tolerance and root architecture traits and (iii) to identify the putative mechanisms of drought tolerance via root system traits. An experiment was carried out in two years using a split plot design with three replications. The main plots were assigned to three water stress levels, namely: well watering (WW), water stress at flowering (WSF) and water stress at grain filling (WSG), and sub-plots to 22 maize cultivars and populations. Drought tolerance index (DTI) had strong and positive associations with crown root length (CRL), root circumference (RC) and root dry weight (DRW) under both WSF and WSG, a negative correlation with brace root whorls (BW), and positive correlations with crown root number (CN) under WSF and brace root branching (BB) and crown root branching (CB) under WSG. These root traits are therefore considered as putative mechanisms of drought tolerance. The cultivars Pioneer-3444, SC-128, Egaseed-77, SC-10 and TWC-324 showed the most drought tolerant and the highest yielding in a descending order; each had a number of such drought tolerance mechanisms. Further investigation should be conducted to determine the underlying root mechanisms contributing to the selection of water-efficient hybrids of maize.

Corn crown and brace roots correlations drought tolerance index

References (22)

  1. 1 Book Collection 1980 : Principles and procedures of statistics : a biometrical approach / Robert G.D. Steel and James H. Torric
  2. 2 Root Architecture and Plant Productivity [DOI]
  3. 3 Roots of the Second Green Revolution [DOI]
  4. 4 Shovelomics: high throughput phenotyping of maize (Zea mays L.) root architecture in the field [DOI]
  5. 5 Variation in root system architecture and drought response in rice (Oryza sativa): Phenotyping of the OryzaSNP panel in rainfed lowland fields [DOI]
  6. 6 Metabolic and Phenotypic Responses of Greenhouse-Grown Maize Hybrids to Experimentally Controlled Drought Stress [DOI]
  7. 7 Causes for Silk Delay in a Lowland Tropical Maize Population [DOI]
  8. 8 Factors that contribute to genetic variation for nutrient efficiency of crop plants [DOI]
  9. 9 Maximizing crop yields.
  10. 10 Effect of Soil Drought Stress on Leaf Water Status, Membrane Permeability and Enzymatic Antioxidant System of Maize [DOI]
  11. 11 Nitrogen Uptake and Utilization in Contrasting Nitrogen Efficient Tropical Maize Hybrids [DOI]
  12. 12 Growth of axile and lateral roots of maize: I development of a phenotying platform [DOI]
  13. 13 Genotypic difference in the plasticity of root system architecture of field-grown maize in response to plant density [DOI]
  14. 14 A consensus map of QTLs controlling the root length of maize [DOI]
  15. 15 Differential Wilting among Soybean Genotypes in Response to Water Deficit [DOI]
  16. 16 Maize response to elevated plant density combined with lowered N-fertilizer rate is genotype-dependent [DOI]
  17. 17 Groundnut water relations [DOI]
  18. 18 Genetic variation in the gravitropic response of maize roots to low temperatures [DOI]
  19. 19 GENETICS OF ROOT CHARACTERISTICS IN SUNFLOWER (HELIANTHUS ANNUUS L.) UNDER CONTRASTING WATER REGIMES
  20. 20 Influence of Deficit Irrigation at Silking Stage and Genotype on Maize (Zea mays L.) Agronomic and Yield Characters [DOI]
  21. 21 Influences of Genotype and Drought at Flowering and Grain Filling on Root Architecture Traits of Zea mays L. [DOI]
  22. 22 Principles and Procedures of Statistics: A Biometrical Approach. [DOI]

Cited by 18

Genetic Diversity Based on Morphological Traits of 19 Maize Genotypes Using Principal Component Analysis and GT Biplot

A. M. M. Al-Naggar, M. M. Shafik, R. Y. M. Musa · Annual Research & Review in Biology · 2020

Response of Maize (Zea mays L.) to Deficit Irrigation Combined with Reduced Nitrogen Rate is Genotype Dependent

A. M. M. Al-Naggar, M. M. Shafik, R. Y. M. Musa · Annual Research & Review in Biology · 2020

Drought Tolerance Strategies and Autophagy in Resilient Wheat Genotypes

Kahleen Hickey, Magnus Wood, Tom Sexton · Cells · 2022

Field application of beneficial microbes to ameliorate drought stress in maize

Uchechukwu Paschal Chukwudi, Olubukola Oluranti Babalola, Bernard R. Glick · Plant and Soil · 2025

Metal-Based Nanoparticles Enhance Drought Tolerance in Soybean

Tran My Linh, Nguyen Chi Mai, Pham Thi Hoe · Journal of Nanomaterials · 2020

Paclobutrazol improves surface water use efficiency by regulating allometric trait behavior in maize

Mohammad Urfan, Haroon Rashid Hakla, Shubham Sharma · Chemosphere · 2022

Drought stress memory in maize: understanding and harnessing the past for future resilience

Latif A. Peer, Aijaz A. Wani, Ajaz A. Lone · Plant Cell Reports · 2025

Showing 10 of 18 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

75

Page views

0

PDF downloads

28

Outbound clicks

18

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.