The Effect of Plant Conditioners on Some Physiological Parameters of Maize in a Drought Year

At Kompolt, since 2015 we have been testing environmentally friendly nutrient supply methods for arable crops. The utilisation of the nutrients depends on the amount and distribution of rainfall during the growing season. In 2022, there was an extreme drought in Hungary, with rainfall from May to September 60-80% below the 40-year average, which resulted in failures of maize yield in many parts of the country. In the given year, we set up experiments with 3 different plant conditioners (1. amino acids, 2. P+Zn+K+Mo, 3. ion Zn) on maize cultivars and measured some photosynthetic parameters with different plant sensors, moreover the yield and corncob parameters at harvest. The SPAD index and spectral vegetation indices, which determine some physiological features, showed a positive effect of all three treatments at the beginning of flowering. Yield were 155 and 159% higher in the first two treatments and 144% higher in treatment 3 compared to the control. Based on corncob parameters, all three treatments showed significantly better results than the control. The largest difference was measured for treatment 2, based on all parameters tested, where foliar fertilizers supplemented with macro- and micro elements in addition to amino acids. Overall, plant conditioners applied at the right time can reduce the effects of environmental stress on plants, and the sensors used can monitor the effects of treatments throughout the growing season.