Seed priming with silicon (Si) is an efficient and easy method to regulate plant tolerance against different abiotic stresses. A pot experiment was conducted to examine the Si-mediated changes in oxidative defense and some vital physio-biochemical parameters of maize under a limited water supply. For this purpose, two maize varieties (Pearl and Malka) with different Si priming treatments (0, 4 mM, 6 mM) were grown under a control and 60% field capacity for three weeks. At 60% field capacity, significant reductions in plant growth attributes and chlorophyll contents were recorded compared with the control. The negative effects of drought stress were more severe for Malka compared with Pearl. Drought stress increased the malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) contents, altered the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT)), and triggered the accumulation of soluble sugars, glycine betaine, proline, and phenolics contents. Nevertheless, seed priming with silicon at 4 or 6 mM was effective in alleviating the detrimental effects of drought stress in both cultivars. Si priming particularly at 6 mM significantly enhanced the shoot and root lengths as well as their biomass and improved the levels of photosynthetic pigments. Moreover, Si treatments enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, POD, and CAT) while it reduced the MDA and H₂O₂ contents in both cultivars under stress conditions. In crux, the present investigation suggests that Si priming mitigates the harmful effects of drought stress and contributes to the recovery of maize growth.

Application of controlled-release urea (CRU) improves crop yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) compared with conventional urea. However, the effectiveness of CRU differs with fertilization placement. A two site-year field experiment was carried out in fluvo-aquic soil in central China to study the effects of two N sources (CRU and urea) and three fertilization placements (band application between two corn rows at 0, 5, and 15 cm soil depths) on fresh ear yield and NUE of sweet corn. The soil inorganic N (NO₃⁻-N and NH₄⁺-N) concentrations at the soil layers of 0–20 cm and 20–40 cm, root morphology characteristics and leaf physiological functions were also measured during the sweet corn growth period. Results showed that the deep placement of CRU at 15 cm soil depth significantly increased the sweet corn fresh ear yield, total N uptake, and NUE by 6.3%–13.4%, 27.9%–39.5%, and 82.9%–140.1%, respectively compared with CRU application at 0 cm depth. Deep placement of CRU at 15 cm also increased the root morphology traits, gas exchange attributes, and soil NO₃⁻-N and NH₄⁺-N concentrations in 0–20 cm and 20–40 cm layer, especially during later crop growth stages. However, the different N placements exerted non-significant effects on NUE and fresh ear yield when urea was applied as the N source. In crux, deep CRU placement instead of urea at 15 cm depth can effectively improve fresh ear yield and NUE of sweet corn in fluvo-aquic soil because of higher root growth, better leaf physiological functions and increased availability of soil NO₃⁻-N and NH₄⁺-N.

Based on the nutritional characteristics of fresh corn and the fertilizer supply characteristics of new fertilizers (controlled release fertilizer and bio-organic special fertilizer), the total amount of fertilizer applied was reduced and different new fertilizers were applied. The one-time application technology was used to explore the reduced fertilization technology of Sweet corn. The results showed that the yield of Sweet corn was not affected by using bio-organic special fertilizer and slow controlled release fertilizer. Reduce the total amount of fertilizer application by 20 %, and the yield of Sweet corn will not be affected. There is a difference in soil available nutrients between different fertilization treatments after the completion of the two planting seasons. Using the same amount of controlled release fertilizer and 20 % less dosage of controlled release fertilizer has the tendency to reduce soil NO₃ -N, the difference is significant. The soil available P and K in each treatment were different, but there was no regular pattern.