Demonstrates that foliar application of humic acid and selenium improves physiological traits of corn under drought stress, indicating a potential mitigation strategy.
Key Points
To investigate how foliar application of humic acid and selenium affects corn's physiological traits under drought stress.
Conducted experiments in Baghmolek, Iran, during 2020 and 2021
Applied foliar treatments of humic acid and selenium at various concentrations
Evaluated plant physiology including relative water content, MDA, and DI-TY under different irrigation conditions
Drought stress significantly reduced all agro-physiological traits of corn
300 ppm of humic acid and 10-20 g/ha of selenium improved relative water content to 84.4%
MDA levels decreased from 7.63 to approximately 5.1 with treatment, indicating less lipid damage
The combined treatments showed a synergistic effect, enhancing water retention and cellular protection