{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T06:22:39Z","timestamp":1787638959709,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787616000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Plant Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Global warming is altering crop growing conditions across diverse climate zones worldwide. In particular, drought stress, a major abiotic constraint, severely restricts the potential for maize yield improvement. The implementation of effective soil improvement and water\u2013saving agronomic practices has emerged as a key measure for mitigating climate change and promoting sustainable agricultural development. This study aims to systematically investigate the effects of straw returning on maize grain yield under water\u2013limited conditions by improving soil properties and modulating the ascorbate\u2013glutathione (AsA\u2013GSH) cycle.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study was conducted over a two\u2013year field period using six maize varieties\u2013DK159, MC703, A2636, 303\u00d7178, ZQ1, and ZJ330\u2013as experimental materials. The experiment employed tillage methods as the primary treatment, with two levels: straw returning (ST) and traditional plowing (TP, without straw return). Based on this, two water management regimes were implemented: drought stress (DS) and normal irrigation (NI). This study analyzes the differential responses of various maize varieties under the interaction of different tillage practices and moisture conditions.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Straw returning can effectively improve soil conditions under drought stress, by regulating the levels of antioxidants and the activities of antioxidant enzymes in the AsA\u2013GSH cycle, it promotes the efficient scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS), reduces oxidative damage to crops caused by environmental stress, and thereby helps maintain relatively stable yields. This study indicates that, compared with traditional plowing, straw returning increased maize yields by 0.42%\u201329.64% under drought stress. Among the various treatment combinations, straw returning (ST) + normal irrigation (NI) Treatment Combination produced the best soil quality and the highest yield.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Implications<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The findings of this study provide theoretical support for improving farmland soil quality, enhancing maize drought tolerance, and maintaining grain yield, while also laying a foundation for further research on crop responses to drought stress.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpls.2026.1857578","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T05:35:47Z","timestamp":1787636147000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Straw returning enhances oxygen radical scavenging capacity by modulating of AsA\u2013GSH pathway in maize subjected to water deficit"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Yan","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Agronomy, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University","place":["Hohhot, China"]},{"name":"Institute of Crop Science, Inner Mongolia Academy of Agricultural & Animal Husbandry Sciences","place":["Hohhot, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiying","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Agronomy, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University","place":["Hohhot, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jian","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vocational and Technical College, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University","place":["Baotou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhiqiang","family":"Yuan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Science and Technology Park, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University","place":["Hohhot, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yafang","family":"Fan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Crop Science, Inner Mongolia Academy of Agricultural & Animal Husbandry Sciences","place":["Hohhot, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chen","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Agronomy, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University","place":["Hohhot, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shaodong","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Agronomy, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University","place":["Hohhot, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yanli","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Crop Science, Inner Mongolia Academy of Agricultural & Animal Husbandry Sciences","place":["Hohhot, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"99","DOI":"10.47278\/journal.abr\/2024.017","article-title":"Influence of abiotic stresses on the production and sustainability of rice crop","volume":"16","author":"Ali","year":"2024","journal-title":"Agrobiological Records"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"29","DOI":"10.47278\/journal.abr\/2024.035","article-title":"Trend analysis of extreme weather indices in different districts of Punjab, Pakistan","volume":"18","author":"Ameen","year":"2024","journal-title":"Agrobiological Records"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"235","DOI":"10.1104\/pp.99.1.235","article-title":"Changes in the ascorbate system during seed development of Vicia faba L","volume":"99","author":"Arrigoni","year":"1992","journal-title":"Plant Physiol."},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1163\/1877-0339_bec_sim_00108","article-title":"Inner Mongolia: Agricultural technology promotion breaks ground, corn yield jumps \u2013 Practice of precision control and high yield technology promotion for corn dense planting in Inner Mongolia","year":"2025","journal-title":"Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Agric. 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