Drought Responses on Physiological Attributes of Zea mays in Relation to Nitrogen and Source-Sink Relationships

Abstract

Maize is the staple food crop and essential for world food security. Maize plants’ water requirement is high for proper growth and development at vegetative stage and grain formation at reproductive stage. Drought is the major abiotic stress that affects almost all the growth stages of maize crop and it has a strong impact on all the physiological process of maize plants. Similarly, N metabolism is of central importance during drought stress. Nitrogen (N) is one of the macronutrients; it is a major requirement for crop growth and grain yield of maize. Therefore, nitrogen and water separately or in combination are the two most critical factors in maize production. Drought modifies source-sink relations and weakens the source and sink strength, which disturbs plant’s growth, plant’s adaptation to stress, and consequently affects crop productivity.