Effects of waterlogging stress on growth and development of fresh corn seedling

Double pots waterlogging experiment was conducted to analyze the influence of waterlogging stress on fresh corn seedling root，aboveground morphology，photosynthesis，and leaf protective enzyme activity，compared with conventional water supply. The results showed that the maize root length and root activity decreased significantly under waterlogging stress，and the trend was more and more evident with longer duration of waterlogging，but the effect of waterlogging stress on number of root system was relatively small. The corn plant obviously reduced and blade rate dropped significantly under waterlogging. Leaf chlorophyll content and net photosynthetic rate were significantly lower than control after waterlogging，and the transpiration rate dropped significantly after 12 d. The SOD and POD enzymes activities of the leaf increased under waterlogging stress，and those enzymes activities increased significantly after 12 d. SOP and POD enzymes activities can be used as physiological indexes to reflect the waterlogging tolerance of fresh corn seedling.