Plant, Soil and Environment, 2024 (vol. 70), issue 10
Response of maize (Zea mays L.) on yield, physiology and stomatal behaviour under two different elevated CO2 concentrations. Do these anatomical changes affect the physiology of the C4 crop plant under high CO2 conditions?Original Paper
Khan Ira, Vanaja Maddi, Sathish Poldasari, Faizan Mohammad, Soysal Sipan, Rajput Vishnu D., Djalovic Ivica, Trivan Goran, Alam Pravej
Plant Soil Environ., 2024, 70(10):601-616 | DOI: 10.17221/105/2024-PSE 
Rising CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is a matter of global concern and poses apprehension about how plants will adapt to the changing environment. Various studies have proved that under high CO2 levels, plant physiology alters and affects plant functioning. However, under elevated CO2, the stomatal characters and their relation with physiological responses are still not yet clear. To find out these changes in the stomatal parameters at ambient and two elevated CO2 (550 ppm and 700 ppm) levels, four genotypes of maize (Zea mays L.) viz. DHM-117, Harsha, Varun and M-24 were grown in open-top chambers....
Alleviating cadmium toxicity in maize plants: role of glycine betaine in enhancing growth, photosynthetic efficiency, water status, and antioxidant defense mechanismOriginal Paper
Abeer Hamdy Elhakem
Plant Soil Environ., 2024, 70(10):617-631 | DOI: 10.17221/66/2024-PSE
The issue of heavy metals (HMs) contamination poses a significant challenge in the environment, exerting a severe impact on the growth and productivity of crops. Cadmium (Cd) is specifically identified as the seventh heavy metal among the top 20 pollutants, primarily due to its elevated phytotoxicity and its solubility in water. In the current study, foliar application of glycine betaine (GB) (500 µmol) investigated the toxic effects of cadmium in maize plants subjected to two Cd concentrations (50 and 100 µmol) as CdCl2. The maize plants exposed to Cd stress exhibited a massive reduction in growth, biomass, photosynthetic pigments [chlorophyll...
Enhanced maize yield and nitrogen efficiency with low molecular weight fulvic acid: insights into chlorophyll a/b ratio and nitrogen metabolising enzyme activityOriginal Paper
Fugui Li, Shujie Zhang, Longhang Chai, Zhiqiang Guo, Peipei Li, Yanlai Han, Yi Wang
Plant Soil Environ., 2024, 70(10):632-643 | DOI: 10.17221/320/2024-PSE
This study investigates the impact of various molecular weights (MWs) of fulvic acid (FA) on maize growth, grain yield, and nutrient uptake under different nitrogen levels (NLs). A 2 × 3 balanced design was employed, with high (0.2 g N/kg) and low (0.05 g N/kg) NLs, and three FA MW ranges (W1 ≤ 3 000 D, 3 000 < W2 ≤ 10 000 D, W3 > 10 000 D) were applied at 25 mg/kg in soil. Significant interactions between NLs and FA MWs were observed in chlorophyll a/b ratio, nitrate reductase and glutamate dehydrogenase activities, nitrogen content, and nitrogen uptake efficiency. Overall, under different NLs, FA application reduced chlorophyll...
Serendipita indica improve seed germination and seedling growth of Lolium multiflorum Lam. through amelioration of osmotic adjustment, nutrient accumulation and Na+/K+ homoeostasis under salinity conditionsOriginal Paper
Binghua Liu, Xinghong Liu, Lianjia Yu, Xingjian Dun, Hailin Ma, Fangchun Liu, Lin Peng
Plant Soil Environ., 2024, 70(10):644-655 | DOI: 10.17221/244/2024-PSE
A pot experiment was carried out to determine the effect of Serendipita indica on the salt response of Lolium multiflorum Lam. Although the salinity decreased the root colonisation of S. indica by 28.34%, successful colonisation of S. indica increased the seed germination rate, fresh weight, leaf relative water content and chlorophyll content by 28.09, 59.01, 38.78 and 28.80%, respectively, compared with uncolonised seedlings. Under salinity, leaf malondialdehyde content, leaf relative electrical conductivity, as well as Na+ content and Na+/K+ ratio in leaves and roots of S. indica-colonised...
Innovative approach to utilising magnetic fields to enhance wheat yield: evidence from field studies in ChinaOriginal Paper
Yinglei Zhang, Hangyu Dou, Liuyang yang, Yihan Zhang, Wei Sun, Yihao Ruan, Jiameng Guo, Yongchao Wang, Ruixin Shao, Qinghua Yang, Hao Wang
Plant Soil Environ., 2024, 70(10):656-672 | DOI: 10.17221/285/2024-PSE
Magnetic fields, as a form of physical energy, exert an influence on biological activities. However, our current understanding of the impact of magnetic fields on wheat yield remains limited. In this study, our objective was to investigate the effects of magnetic field treatment of wheat plants on their yield, root growth, absorption of nitrogen and phosphorus and soil bacterial diversity. The experiments were conducted at two agricultural research stations in China, Zhengzhou and Xuchang. Plants were treated with magnetic fields of 20, 40, 60, and 80 mT induced by permanent magnets for chronic exposure. Untreated plants were considered as controls....
Prohexadione calcium regulates wheat tolerance to drought stress by maintaining water balance and promoting antioxidant metabolism and photosynthesisShort Communication
Ziyang Zhang
Plant Soil Environ., 2024, 70(10):673-681 | DOI: 10.17221/247/2024-PSE
This study explored whether and how prohexadione calcium (Pro-Ca) regulated wheat tolerance to drought stress (DS). Findings displayed that DS had significant influence on antioxidant metabolism, water balance and the photosynthesis. DS significantly improved the activity level of enzymatic antioxidants superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), the contents of non-enzymatic antioxidants ascorbic acid (AsA) and glutathione (GSH), electrolyte leakage (EL), malondialdehyde (MDA), and the contents of osmotic regulatory substances soluble protein (SP), soluble sugars (SS) and proline (Pro), compared with...