Lodging is one of the key limiting factors causing serious yield decline in maize cultivation, the plant growth regulator ethephon and its complex formulation are applied to improve quality and lodging-resistance ability of stalks, which is an effective way to prevent
stalk lodging. The responses in plant-type, physiological and biochemical characteristics of maize hybrid Nongda 108, Ludan 981 and their corresponding parents Xu 178, Huang-C, Qi 319, and lx9801 varieties, were studied in field condition, with 200 mg L
-1 ethephon foliage spray at jointing stage. The results showed that ethephon significantly inhibited the elongation of the first to sixth basal internodes for Nongda 108 and Ludan 981, the plant height and the ear height of Nongda 108 and Ludan 981 were significantly reduced. Ethephon remarkably increased the activities of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and indole acetic acid oxidase (IAAO) and content of abscisic acid (ABA) in elongating internodes, and decreased contents of auxin (IAA) and gibberellin (GA
4). The genetic traits were analyzed, the plant height and the ear height of Xu 178, Huang-C, Qi 319, and lx9801 were significantly reduced after ethephon treating, and the length of basal internodes was shortened significantly. The PAL and IAAO activities in elongating internodes were significantly increased after ethephon treating. The endogenous IAA content of elongating internodes was significantly decreased, ABA content was significantly increased, but GA
4/ABA ratio was significantly decreased. It is indicated that the response differences to ethephon among different hybrids may be attributed to the different sensitivities of the parents lines, showing corresponding performance in plant
height, ear height, PAL, IAAO activities and endogenous hormone levels.