Fig. 7

Structural equation model (SEM) showing direct effects of growth, yield-components, physiological, Oxidative indicator traits on maize grain yield (GY). Green and red dashed arrows indicate positive and negative effects, respectively. The Gray dashed arrow represents a non-significant relationship. The numbers in the table represent standardized path coefficients. ** and * indicate significance at p ≤ 0.01 and p ≤ 0.05, respectively; ns = non-significant