Sensitivity of Maize Growth Stages to Excess Soil Moisture Stress

Waterlogging is a significant obstacle to sustainable maize production. Hence, this study aimed to determine the effects of seven days of waterlogging at different maize growth stages, to determine the most sensitive growth stage that affects maize growth and yield, to determine the inter-phenotypic relationship of maize traits and identify maize traits conferring tolerance to waterlogging.

The study was conducted using a randomized complete block design with three replications. All data gathered were analyzed using ANOVA and significant differences among treatment means were compared using Tukey's HSD. The association of maize traits was computed using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation and the strength of the relationship of correlated maize traits was determined using the Rumsey scale.

The result shows that waterlogging can increase the number of adventitious roots during the vegetative and reproductive stages. It induces severe leaf chlorosis when waterlogging occurs at the tasseling stage compared to the other growth stages. The tasseling stage obtained the lowest survival rate and chlorophyll content, shortest ear length, lightest one thousand seed weight, smallest ear diameter, low number of kernels and kernel rows per ear. The maize tasseling stage exhibited a 58.30% yield reduction under waterlogging conditions, making it the most sensitive stage. Maize with greener leaves and longer nodal roots were positively correlated with survival rate (r=0.89). The findings suggest that leaf greenness and nodal root length are reliable indicators for selecting waterlogging-tolerant maize varieties.