Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) is a growth regulator that stimulates plant growth and development. First, a preliminary experiment was performed to find the optimal Vitamin C dosage for maize plants. A single genotype of maize, Golden, was grown in sand under pot conditions. Hoagland’s nutrient solution was applied for seven days. Four doses of Vitamin C (i.e., 0.5, 1, 1.5and 2 mM) were applied as foliar spray on maize seedlings for two weeks. Then, in the main experiment, two genotypes of maize (Zea mays L.) namely Golden and Agaiti 2000 were grown in soil in a wire house at the Botanical Garden, the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad (Pakistan). Based on the preliminary results, the optimal dose (2 mM) of ascorbic acid was applied exogenously as foliar spray on leaves of both genotypes every third day for five weeks at seedling stage (3 leaf stage). Findings were noted both qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of different physiological and growth parameters. In addition, COSTAT software was employed to perform statistical analysis of quantitative readings for all parameters using analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique. It was observed that treated plants showed improved health and growth compared to non-treated plants with higher contents of physiological variables including chlorophyll, carotenoids, soluble carbohydrates, and minerals etc. and increased leaves, roots and shoots sizes and biomass. Moreover, Agaiti 2000 genotype was observed to show better results than genotype golden.

Ascorbic acid (AsA), an antioxidant form of vitamin C, helps the plants in photosynthesis as an enzyme’s cofactor. It also increases the rate at which plants grow, produce, and germinate. The main goal of this study was to find out how ascorbic acid affects the growth of maize (Zea mays L.) while applying on rooting medium. First, a trial experiment was performed to determine the most effective dose of AsA application for maize plants to adopt in the main experiments. A single variety of maize, Golden, was grown in sand under pot conditions. Hoagland’s nutrient solution was applied every week and four doses of AsA (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 mM) were applied in root medium of maize seedlings every three days for two weeks. Then, in the main experiment conducted at the Botanical Garden at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, two cultivars of maize i.e., Golden and Sadaf, were grown in the soil inside a wire house. The selected optimal dosage of vitamin C from trial experiment (1 mM) was applied to roots of maize plants for five weeks after every three days at seedling stage. Growth and physiological parameters were measured and statistically analyzed with the help of COSTAT software using analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique. When compared with the control plants, all plant parameters (root length, shoot length, leaf area, fresh and dry biomass, chlorophyll a and b content, soluble carbohydrates, osmotic potential, Potassium, Calcium, and Phosphorus content) were observed to be enhanced with AsA treatment. On the other hand, application of ascorbic acid decreased the sodium content of both roots and shoots of the treated plants. Moreover, genotype Sadaf demonstrated relatively better results in comparison to genotype Golden.