ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Abiotic Stress
Comprehensive Evaluation of Maize Germplasm for Alkali Tolerance during Germination
Provisionally accepted
- Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China
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Introduction: Alkaline stress poses a major challenge to crop productivity, often causing more severe physiological damage than saline stress alone. Maize is particularly sensitive to alkaline conditions, which significantly inhibit germination and early growth. Establishing accurate evaluation systems for alkali tolerance is therefore crucial for developing resilient cultivars. Methods: A total of 42 maize germplasm accessions were evaluated under simulated alkaline stress (100 mM) during germination. A comprehensive analytical framework integrating principal component analysis, membership-function analysis, stepwise regression, cluster analysis, and discriminant analysis was used to assess alkalinity tolerance. The Lindeman–Merenda–Gold method was further employed to quantify the relative contribution of each morphological trait to the comprehensive alkali-tolerance score. Results: Alkaline stress significantly inhibited early seedling growth, and several germination-related traits showed strong associations with alkali tolerance. Based on the comprehensive D-value, maize accessions were classified into five tolerance groups. Trait-contribution analyses consistently This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article indicated that germination index (GI) and shoot dry weight (SDW) were the strongest determinants of tolerance, with root length (RL) and root fresh weight (RFW) also playing notable roles. These indicators form a reliable basis for screening alkali-tolerant maize germplasm, providing a foundation for future refinement of the evaluation system through physiological or molecular approaches. Discussion: This integrated evaluation system effectively distinguishes maize germplasm by alkali-tolerance level and identifies key morphological determinants. The findings provide a scientific basis for germplasm screening and breeding of alkali-tolerant maize materials, contributing to sustainable agricultural production in saline-alkaline environments.
Keywords: alkali tolerance, Germplasm evaluation, LMG analysis, Maize, seed germination
Received: 20 Oct 2025; Accepted: 08 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Pan, Ge, Gao, Ao and Guan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Man Ao
Yixin Guan
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