Vulnerability of Xylem Embolism in Maize Cultivars with Different Drought Tolerance under Water and Salt Stress
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsPlease refer to the PDF document to view my comments/suggestions as a reviewer
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Minor editing of English language required
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe paper "Vulnerability of xylem embolism in maize cultivars with different drought tolerance under water and salt stress" is an interesting study. The authors conducted a greenhouse experiment with maize to investigate the effects of drought and salinity on the resistance of two maize varieties to drought. The topics discussed in the paper are relevant to agricultural practice due to recent water shortages. The authors aim to determine the characteristics that contribute to greater drought resistance.
Overall, the paper is well-developed. The introduction is clear, and the methodology is detailed and comprehensive. A valuable aspect of the study is the methodological approach, which presents the measurements and analyses in a synthetic manner. The results are interpreted and described accurately. However, it should be noted that the impact of drought stress on photosynthetic rate and transpiration rate is not described, although it is mentioned in the methodology (2.4.3. Leaf Stomatal Gas Exchange Parameters).
A weakness of the study is the short duration of the research. Unfortunately, these are one-year studies. Although the research was conducted under controlled conditions, one year of research is not sufficient to publish the results. Natural studies require at least 2 years of research.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsDear Editors and Authors,
I read with interest the manuscript entitled “Vulnerability of xylem embolism in maize cultivars with different drought tolerance under water and salt stress”. The study provided a new perspective for understanding the drought adaptability of different maize cultivars. The subject of the article is important and has great relevance for the scientific environment of the study area. Therefore, the manuscript needs some adjustments so that it can then be forwarded to the publication process. The manuscript has the potential for publication in this journal Agronomy and needs the following adjustments:
ABSTRACT
- Mention all hydraulic variables.
- Replace repeated keywords in the title.
INTRODUCTION
- It is mentioned that corn is the third most important cereal in the world. Important in what sense? Detail more.
- Insert the objectives clearly. Also insert some hypotheses about the research. The hypotheses are described before the objectives.
- The objective must be similar to that described in the Abstract. To review.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
- Are the climatic conditions defined in the chamber similar to the conditions at the study site?
- Were more characteristics of the physical and chemical properties of the soil analyzed?
- Was the water level and saline concentration used based on any study? How can it be defined that 50 mmol/l of NaCl is considered a high concentration of salt in water? Review and cite base study to obtain this value.
- There are many analyzes that need reference, such as leaf collection and sampling, stem segment sampling.
- Was the entire leaf submerged in water or were leaf discs cut? Insert reference for this methodology. I'm curious.
- In subtopic 2.4.3. Make it clear which sheet was used for gas exchange analyses. This information provided is very confusing.
- In subtopic 2.4.4. needs reference.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsDear,
The authors made the corrections suggested in the previous version. Therefore, the manuscript has the potential to be published in this journal.
