Enhancing Heat Tolerance in Maize Hybrids Using Bacterial Consortium: Modulation of Morpho‐Physiological Traits and Antioxidant Mechanisms

作者：Ijaz Hussain, Rao Muhammad Ikram, Muhammad Habib ur Rahman, Muhammad Baqir Hussain · 发表于：Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1111/jac.70077 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance、Genetics and Plant Breeding、Plant Genetic and Mutation Studies

ABSTRACT Heat stress is one of the most detrimental abiotic stresses, causes significant reduction in plant growth and yield in tropical and sub‐tropical regions. Mitigating the adverse effects is crucial for sustainable crop production and global food security. The use of bacterial consortia represents a promising and eco‐friendly approach to enhance heat tolerance in plants, offering a biological strategy to improve resilience under climate‐induced stress conditions. In this study, three heat‐tolerant Bacillus species ( Bacillus velezensis , Bacillus altitudinis and Bacillus cereus ) and two maize hybrids DK‐6103 (heat tolerant) and SW‐1080 (heat sensitive) were selected from laboratory and glasshouse experiments. The bacterial strains were screened in laboratory at various heat stress levels (30°C, 40°C and 50°C for 96 h), while maize hybrids were evaluated in glasshouse conditions [30°C ± 3 (control) and 45°C ± 3 (heat stress) for 6 h per day over a period of 8 consecutive days]. Subsequently, the response of best performing heat‐tolerant Bacillus spp. as individual and consortium was explored in selected maize hybrids under heat stress [45°C ± 3; 6 h/day over a period of 8 consecutive days] based on morpho‐physiological and antioxidant activity. The results revealed that seed inoculation with a bacterial consortium of B. velezensis , B. altitudinis and B. cereus resulted significant improvements in plant growth, morpho‐physiological traits and antioxidant mechanisms. Ino...