Kekere Otitoloju , Afolabi Joseph Kolade

Department of Plant Science & Biotechnology, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria
Author    Correspondence author
Biological Evidence, 2026, Vol. 16, No. 1   
Received: 23 Nov., 2025    Accepted: 20 Jan., 2026    Published: 24 Feb., 2026

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Salt stress is one of the major limitations of seed germination, plant growth, productivity and nutritional composition. Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) functions as a signalling molecule that modulates physiological and biochemical processes under abiotic stress. Therefore, this research was conducted to assess the potential of H₂O₂ in mitigating adverse effects of salinity stress on the growth and yield of Zea mays (L.). The experiment was conducted in a screenhouse using 96 pots each filled with 14 kg topsoil and arranged in a completely randomized design with eight replicates per treatment. Maize seedlings raised were grouped into two: Each pot in Group A was irrigated with sodium chloride (NaCl) solution and supplemented with 50 ml of 3% H₂O₂ (882 mM) which was applied to the soil, while each pot in Group B received NaCl solution without H₂O₂. Salinity treatments were applied at 0 (control), 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 mM NaCl three times per week and flushed once per week to prevent salt accumulation. Growth, yield, biomass, leaf chlorophyll as well as grain nutritional composition were assessed following standard procedures, and data were analysed using One Way Analysis of Variance at p ≤ 0.05. Plant height declined the most from 160.76 cm in control to 112.19 cm at 250 mM NaCl without H₂O₂, while H₂O₂ treated plants at the same salinity decreased to only 123.52 cm. However, other growth parameters were not significantly enhanced by H₂O₂. The effect of salinity on number of grains per plant was positively influenced by H₂O₂ as salinity decreased it from 226.25 to 84.50 without H₂O₂, but H₂O₂-treated plants maintained up to 88.12 per plant at 250 mM. Salinity treatments devoid of H₂O₂ had protein reduced from 15.14% to 13.44%, fat from 1.88% to 1.74%, and crude fibre from 3.40% to 2.74%. However, salinity with H₂O₂ treatment sustained higher values (14.31%, 2.41%, and 2.80%, respectively). This study demonstrates that hydrogen peroxide can mitigate salinity-induced stress on growth and productivity in maize, supporting its potential role as a stress modulator in crop production under saline conditions.

Salt stress; Hydrogen peroxide; Salinity tolerance; Zea mays