Foliar calcium spray confers drought stress tolerance in maize via modulation of plant growth, water relations, proline content and hydrogen peroxide activity

Water and nutrient restrictions are the factors that limiting growth of maize in arid/semi-arid climate. Calcium (Ca2+) uptake is affected severely under drought stress (DS). The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of DS and foliar applied Ca2+ on growth, physiological, biochemical, yield and grain-nutrient content in two maize cultivars i.e. drought-tolerantDekalb-6525 and drought-sensitive Yousafwala-hybrid. The study comprised of two phases; firstly the best rate of Ca2+ (20, 40 and 60 mg L-1) was evaluated. Secondly, optimized rate of Ca2+ (40 mg L-1) was used to assess physio-biochemical and yield responses of maize under DS. The applied DS caused significant reduction in maize growth, water-status, photosynthesis and grain nutrient contents. Foliar Ca2+ markedly improved plant growth, water-potential (18%), turgor-potential (75%), photosynthesis (45%), stomatal-conductance (47%), transpiration rate (43%) and accumulation of total soluble sugars (20%) along with decline in H2O2 content (23%) in both cultivars under DS. Furthermore, optimized rate of Ca2+ improved maize grain yield and quality under water-deficit conditions. Cultivar Dekalb-6525 presented significant response to Ca2+ over Yousafwala-hybrid. Results of the study surmise that foliar supply of Ca2+ is an effective approach to make plants vigorous to thrive under limited-water supply.