Mitigating Water Stress on Yield and Yield Components of Sweet Corn ( Zea mays L.) by Growth Enhancers

Some growth enhancers can be useful in declining the effects of drought on corn. This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of growth stimulants superabsorbent A200 (SAP) polymer, polyacrylamide (PAM) polymer, smoke water (SW), salicylic acid (SA), potassium silicate (PS), humic acid (HA), and control at water stress levels (control, moderate, and severe) on sweet corn ( Zea mays L.) in saline soil (EC = 6.8 ds m −1 ) in 2022 and 2023. All growth promoters had a positive and significant effect on leaf area index (LAI), relative water content (RWC), plant height, biological yield, grain yield, harvest index, grain number cob −1 , 100‐grain weight, grain number row −1 , row number cob −1 , and grain protein compared to the control. The use of growth enhancers on grain yield as the most important trait showed that in no‐drought stress, moderate, and severe stress conditions, it promoted up to 31.7%, 32.8%, and 20.8% compared to the control, respectively. Overall, the results showed that under climatic conditions, saline soil of the region, and drought stress treatments (control, moderate, and severe), SA and SAP had a more prominent positive effect than the other growth enhancers on grain yield of sweet corn in 2 years.