Global warming has led to more frequent extreme weather events, such as heavy summer rains, in the Huang‐Huai‐Hai region. These events significantly impede the growth and development of waxy maize in the area and disrupt the stable progression of the industry. However, there is a lack of effective agricultural measures to mitigate the impact of waterlogging, and the underlying regulation mechanisms remain unclear. To fill this knowledge gap, we conducted a two‐year experiment to assess whether exogenous EDAH (a mixture of ethephon and diethyl aminoethyl hexanoate (DA‐6), ethephon: DA‐6 = 27%: 3%) application during the waxy maize V6 stage, combined with 10 days of waterlogging treatment at the V6, VT and R2 growth stages. The results indicate that exogenous EDAH mitigates the adverse effects of waterlogging stress to a certain extent. It is noteworthy that exogenous EDAH increases the leaf area index and photosynthetic parameters of waxy maize, enhances the activity of catalase in ear leaves at the R3 stage, inhibits the accumulation of malondialdehyde and delays premature aging of plants. Furthermore, exogenous EDAH delays premature ripening of grains caused by waterlogging, increases the moisture content of fresh waxy maize grains during the fresh edible period, but does not effectively mitigate the yield losses caused by waterlogging. However, exogenous EDAH effectively improves grain quality under waterlogging stress, increasing the soluble sugar content and total protein content while reducing starch content, ultimately enhancing the edibility of fresh ears. Through TOPSIS comprehensive evaluation, it can be inferred that exogenous EDAH effectively mitigates the overall impact of waterlogging on waxy maize at both the V6 and VT stages. This research sheds light on potential strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of waterlogging on agricultural productivity and grain quality.

中文翻译：

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外源EDAH（乙烯利和己酸二乙胺的混合物）增强糯玉米的耐涝性并改善籽粒品质


全球变暖导致黄淮海地区夏季暴雨等极端天气事件更加频繁。这些事件严重阻碍了该地区糯玉米的生长和发展，扰乱了该行业的稳定发展。然而，目前缺乏有效的农业措施来缓解内涝影响，且潜在的调控机制尚不明确。为了填补这一知识空白，我们进行了一项为期两年的实验，以评估外源EDAH（乙烯利和二乙基氨乙基己酸酯（DA-6）的混合物，乙烯利：DA-6 = 27%：3%）在糯玉米种植期间是否施用V6期，在V6、VT、R2生长期结合10天的涝处理。结果表明，外源EDAH在一定程度上减轻了涝害胁迫的不利影响。值得注意的是，外源EDAH增加了糯玉米的叶面积指数和光合参数，增强了R3期穗叶过氧化氢酶的活性，抑制了丙二醛的积累，延缓了植株早衰。此外，外源EDAH可以延缓涝害引起的籽粒早熟，提高鲜糯玉米鲜食期的水分含量，但不能有效缓解涝害造成的产量损失。而外源EDAH有效改善了涝渍胁迫下的籽粒品质，提高了可溶性糖含量和总蛋白含量，同时降低了淀粉含量，最终提高了鲜穗的食用性。通过TOPSIS综合评价可以看出，外源EDAH在V6和VT阶段均有效减轻了涝渍对糯玉米的总体影响。 这项研究揭示了减轻涝灾对农业生产力和粮食质量不利影响的潜在策略。