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<p>Plant-based biopolymers are gaining increasing interest in water conservation and fertilizer coating technologies. Biopolymer coated urea (BCU) may improve water use efficiency (WUE) and nitrogen (N) supply to plants under drought, but its mechanisms still remain elusive. The present study assessed the impact of BCU on ammonia (NH<sub>3</sub>) losses, maize growth, physio-biochemical attributes, WUE and N uptake under drought stress. The investigations involved NH<sub>3</sub> losses from fertilizers (BCU, zinc-coated urea (ZCU) and non-coated urea (NCU)) in a lysimeter study and two pot experiments assessing biopolymers coated seed (CS) and BCU at 100%, 80% and 60% of recommended N application rates under well-watered (100% FC), mild (75% FC) and moderate stress (50% FC) regimes. BCU decreased NH<sub>3</sub> losses by 37–61% and 22–24%, compared to NCU and ZCU, respectively. Both CS and BCU significantly improved plant carbon acquisition by 7%, N uptake by 6–8% and photosynthesis (<i>A</i><sub><i>n</i></sub>) by 42–50% compared to their respective control treatments. This, in turn, enhanced chlorophyll contents by 12–17%, antioxidant enzyme activities by 17–51%, and proline content by 15%. The enhanced N uptake and associated physio-biochemical changes led to significant improvement in plant height and dry weight (DW) with increase of 7–10% and 26–43%, respectively. Notably, BCU outperformed CS under drought stress. The results indicate that BCU application at a suitable rate improved maize growth under mild and moderate water stress by lowering N losses and improving C and N acquisition.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>

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Biopolymer Coated Urea Modulates Growth, Physiological and Biochemical Attributes of Maize (Zea Mays L.) Under Drought by Improving Nitrogen and Carbon Acquisition

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月10日

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  • Nadeem Sarwar,
  • Muhammad Akhtar,
  • Yaosheng Wang

摘要

Plant-based biopolymers are gaining increasing interest in water conservation and fertilizer coating technologies. Biopolymer coated urea (BCU) may improve water use efficiency (WUE) and nitrogen (N) supply to plants under drought, but its mechanisms still remain elusive. The present study assessed the impact of BCU on ammonia (NH3) losses, maize growth, physio-biochemical attributes, WUE and N uptake under drought stress. The investigations involved NH3 losses from fertilizers (BCU, zinc-coated urea (ZCU) and non-coated urea (NCU)) in a lysimeter study and two pot experiments assessing biopolymers coated seed (CS) and BCU at 100%, 80% and 60% of recommended N application rates under well-watered (100% FC), mild (75% FC) and moderate stress (50% FC) regimes. BCU decreased NH3 losses by 37–61% and 22–24%, compared to NCU and ZCU, respectively. Both CS and BCU significantly improved plant carbon acquisition by 7%, N uptake by 6–8% and photosynthesis (An) by 42–50% compared to their respective control treatments. This, in turn, enhanced chlorophyll contents by 12–17%, antioxidant enzyme activities by 17–51%, and proline content by 15%. The enhanced N uptake and associated physio-biochemical changes led to significant improvement in plant height and dry weight (DW) with increase of 7–10% and 26–43%, respectively. Notably, BCU outperformed CS under drought stress. The results indicate that BCU application at a suitable rate improved maize growth under mild and moderate water stress by lowering N losses and improving C and N acquisition.

Graphical Abstract