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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp8 (2026): International Conference On Recent Trends In Smart And Sustainable Agriculture For Food And Nutritional Security (SSAFNS 2025)

Sargassum-derived biostimulant improves drought tolerance and yield performance in Zea mays L.

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.16357
Submitted
26 June 2026
Published
28-09-2026

Abstract

Drought stress, a major constraint in maize (Zea mays L.) productivity around the world. This study assessed the effectiveness of a phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄)-hydrolysed Sargassum-based biostimulant in improving drought tolerance and sustaining maize productivity under water-deficit conditions. A field experiment was conducted during the 2025–26 rabi season at Sakkampatty, Theni District, Tamil Nadu, India, using a randomised block design (RBD) with nine treatments and three replications. Biochemical characterisation of the biostimulant identified phenolics, flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids, phytosterols, carbohydrates, proteins and biologically active functional groups. The biostimulant significantly improved physiological traits, growth, yield attributes and grain yield compared with the drought-stressed control. Among the drought-stressed treatments, application at 3.0 kg ha-1 (T₇) recorded the highest chlorophyll stability index (CSI),
membrane stability index (MSI), relative water content (RWC), proline accumulation, antioxidant enzyme activities and grain yield (39.58 g plant-1), representing an approximately 115 % increase over the drought-stressed control (T₂). These findings suggest that the H₃PO₄-hydrolysed Sargassum biostimulant has potential as an eco-friendly approach for enhancing drought tolerance and sustaining maize productivity under water-limited conditions. Multi-location and multi-season studies are required to validate its effectiveness across diverse agro-climatic conditions.

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