Effect of superabsorbent hydrogel on yield, yield components and water use efficiency of corn under drought stress

Deficit irrigation is a technique for optimizing crop production under drought stress conditions. The superabsorbent hydrogel is a hydrophilic polymer being able to absorb and retain a large amount of water. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different rates of Super AB A 200 superabsorbent hydrogel on yield and yield components of corn cv SC704 under drought stress. The experiment carried out in split plot based on a randomized block design in Hamidieh region, Khuzestan province, Iran. In this study, three different depths of irrigation were considered as the main plot including 100, 75 and 50% of water requirement of plants respectively and different levels of superabsorbent were used as sub-plot including 0 (control), 15, 30 and 45 g/m2, respectively. Increasing drought stress led to significant loss of yield, yield components and decrement in water use efficiency of corn The effect of drought stress was determined by decreasing leaf surface area index, disruption of nutrients uptake and transfer, which ultimately led to a decrease in the supply of nutrients, yield and yield components. Finally, it was concluded that superabsorbent hydrogel is effective in retaining water and nutrients and releasing them under drought stress conditions and significantly prevents the decline of yield and yield components. It is recommended to use 75% of plant water requirement and 45 g/m2 superabsorbent for corn cultivation under Khuzestan province climate conditions.