The effect of drought stress and the salicylic acid on the germination parameters of two maize cultivars

Drought stress is one of the significant, limiting, environmental factors in the crop production. Previous research indicated that the salicylic acid plays an important role in the germination and the regulation of the physiological processes in plants. The present study was carried out in an attempt to investigate the effects of drought stress and the salicylic acid on the germination of two maize cultivars and to compare their drought tolerance. The experiment followed a factorial, completely randomized, research design and was carried out in three replications. The factors included: the drought stress (i.e. water potential at six levels: 0, -2, -4, -8 and -10 Mpa) and the salicylic acid (0 and 0.2 mM). The results indicated that the drought stress and the salicylic acid had significant effects on all of the traits under study, i.e. germination percentage, germination speed, mean time germination, germination rate, radicle and shoot lengths, fresh and dry radicle weight, fresh and dry shoot weight, and dry seedling weight. With an increase in the drought stress, all of the aforementioned straits significantly decreased except for the mean time germination which demonstrated an increase. Similarly, the salicylic acid had a significant effect on all of the traits under analysis. Comparing the two cultivars, it was found that the 647 cultivar demonstrated more tolerance against the drought stress at germination level in comparison to the 704 one. In addition, the salicylic acid increased drought tolerance at germination level in both of the cultivars.