Most plants demonstratewide interactive and complex adaptive morphological,
biochemical, and
physiological responses when subjected to salinity stress. Salt stress
negatively impacts agricultural yields more especially cultivated crops
throughout the world. Of interest to this study is maize a salt-sensitive crop that is
widely grown worldwide, and receiving most attention due to its significant
attributes and ability to serve as a great model for stress response studies.
We exposed QN701 maize cultivar, tosimulated salinity stress and investigated its morphological and
physiological responses. Salinity negatively induced various morphological
responses such as the reduction in plant height, number of leaves, shoot and
root (length and biomass), and leaf
width; however, it significantly increased the leaf area. On the physiological
aspect, salt stress decreased the number of stomata, stomatal density, and photosynthesis, while
it increased the respiration rate. This study expanded our knowledge of the morphological and
physiological responses of maize to salinity stress. Additionally, these
findings may serve as a recommendation for salinity breeding programs in maize
and related cereal crops.
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