Oxygen enrichment with magnesium peroxide for minimizing hypoxic stress of flooded corn

Flooding/waterlogging is a major factor responsible for hypoxic stress in agriculture. The aim of this study was to develop an effective oxygen buffer with magnesium peroxide (MgO2) to generate hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and release bioavailable oxygen. MgO2 provided a relatively stable level (approx. 300 mM) of bioavailable oxygen. The oxygen-buffer system is adjustable and controllable by adding Mg2+ or EDTA to the aqueous system. Regular H2O2 was also able to provide bioavailable oxygen but the system was poorly buffered with respect to oxygen release. The accessibility of plants to bioavailable oxygen was indicated by the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADHase, EC 1.1.1.1), an anaerobically induced enzyme of flooded plants. The application of MgO2 to flooded soil reduced ADHase activity in corn-root tips by 91.3%. This application of MgO2 presents a novel pathway to significantly (P < 5%) minimize adverse impacts of hypoxia on flooded corn seedlings. This finding may have broad implications for addressing hypoxicity problems in crop science and technology.