Microbiome and drought impacts in maize

This study aims to characterize plant-microbe interactions under different levels of water availability. Maize was grown in a cross-factorial experiment under two different watering levels and in two distinct soil microbial communities. The independent and combined effects of watering and microbiome treatment on plant growth and physiology, and microbiome composition were examined. Understanding the effects of each factor on plant performance, and plant-microbe interactions is important for predicting drought impacts across different environments and applications utilizing microbes to improve plant performance.