Biochemical, gas exchange, and chlorophyll fluorescence analysis of maize genotypes under drought stress reveals important insights into their interaction and homeostasis

Many studies have been conducted on maize to study the effect of drought yield at flowering stage, but understanding biochemical and photosynthetic response against seedling stage needs be well established. Thus, understand differential changes interaction parameters under drought, a greenhouse experiment with twelve genotypes severe (30% field capacity) irrigated (90-100% conditions were performed. Drought differentially altered in all genotypes. A sharp increase hydrogen peroxide, malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAOC) seen positive association between H2O2 TAOC, MDA transpiration rate (E) was observed drought. Nonphotochemical quenching increased avoid photosystem damage. PCA biplot analysis showed that reducing E increasing efficiency would better adaptation mechanism stage.