Abstract
Melatonin plays an important role in numerous vital life processes of animals and has recently captured the interests of plant biologists because of its potent role in plants. As well as its possible contribution to photoperiodic processes, melatonin is believed to act as a growth regulator and/or as a direct free radical scavenger/indirect antioxidant. However, identifying a precise concentration of melatonin with an optimum nitrogen level for a particular application method to improve plant growth requires identification and clarification. This work establishes inimitable findings by optimizing the application of melatonin with an optimum level of nitrogen, alleviating the detrimental effects of drought stress in maize seedlings. Maize seedlings were subjected to drought stress of 40–45% field capacity (FC) at the five-leaf stage, followed by a soil drenching of melatonin 100 µM and three nitrogen levels (200, 250, and 300 kg ha−1) to consider the changes in maize seedling growth. Our results showed that drought stress significantly inhibited the physiological and biochemical parameters of maize seedlings. However, the application of melatonin with nitrogen remarkably improved the plant growth attributes, chlorophyll pigments, fluorescence, and gas exchange parameters. Moreover, melatonin and nitrogen application profoundly reduced the reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation by increasing maize antioxidant and nitrogen metabolism enzyme activities under drought-stress conditions. It was concluded that the mitigating potential of 100 µM melatonin with an optimum level of nitrogen (250 kg N ha−1) improves the plant growth, photosynthetic efficiency, and enzymatic activity of maize seedling under drought-stress conditions.
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Claims 6
Claim · model-written summary
Drought stress significantly inhibited the physiological and biochemical parameters of maize seedlings.
Zea maysNot reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Maize Seedlings”
e0“drought stress significantly inhibited the physiological and biochemical parameters of maize seedlings”
Claim · model-written summary
Melatonin applied with nitrogen remarkably improved plant growth attributes and chlorophyll pigments of drought-stressed maize seedlings.
- Treatment
- melatonin with nitrogene0
- Outcome
- plant growth attributes, chlorophyll pigmentse0
- Direction
- improvede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Maize Seedlings”
e0“the application of melatonin with nitrogen remarkably improved the plant growth attributes, chlorophyll pigments, fluorescence, and gas exchange parameters”
Claim · model-written summary
Melatonin applied with nitrogen remarkably improved fluorescence and gas exchange parameters of drought-stressed maize seedlings.
- Treatment
- melatonin with nitrogene0
- Outcome
- fluorescence, and gas exchange parameterse0
- Direction
- improvede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Maize Seedlings”
e0“the application of melatonin with nitrogen remarkably improved the plant growth attributes, chlorophyll pigments, fluorescence, and gas exchange parameters”
Claim · model-written summary
Melatonin and nitrogen application profoundly reduced reactive oxygen species accumulation in maize seedlings under drought stress.
- Treatment
- melatonin and nitrogen applicatione0
- Outcome
- reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulatione0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Maize Seedlings”
e0“melatonin and nitrogen application profoundly reduced the reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation”
Claim · model-written summary
Melatonin and nitrogen application increased antioxidant and nitrogen metabolism enzyme activities of maize under drought stress.
- Treatment
- melatonin and nitrogen applicatione1
- Outcome
- antioxidant and nitrogen metabolism enzyme activitiese0
- Direction
- increasinge0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“by increasing maize antioxidant and nitrogen metabolism enzyme activities under drought-stress conditions”
e1“melatonin and nitrogen application profoundly reduced”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors conclude that 100 µM melatonin with an optimum nitrogen level of 250 kg N per ha improves growth, photosynthetic efficiency and enzymatic activity of drought-stressed maize seedlings.
- Treatment
- 100 µM melatonin with an optimum level of nitrogen (250 kg N ha−1)e0
- Outcome
- plant growth, photosynthetic efficiency, and enzymatic activitye0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“100 µM melatonin with an optimum level of nitrogen (250 kg N ha−1) improves the plant growth, photosynthetic efficiency, and enzymatic activity of maize seedling”
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