Improving the Productivity of Bread Wheat by Good Management Practices under Terminal Drought

Drought‐induced damages in crop plants are ranked at top amid all losses instigated by diverse abiotic stresses. Terminal drought (drought at reproductive phase) has emerged as a severe threat to the productivity of wheat crop. Different seed enhancement techniques, genotypes and distribution of crop plants in different spacings have been explored individually to mitigate these losses; however, their interaction has rarely been tested in improving drought resistance in wheat. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential role of different seed enhancement techniques and row spacings in mitigating the adversities of terminal drought in two wheat cultivars during two consecutive growing seasons of 2010–2011 and 2011–2012. Seeds of wheat cultivars Lasani‐2008 (medium statured) and Triple Dwarf‐1 (dwarf height) soaked in water (hydropriming) or CaCl₂ (osmopriming) were sown in 20‐, 25‐ and 30‐cm spaced rows; just before heading, the soil moisture was maintained at 100 % field capacity (well watered) or 50 % field capacity (terminal drought) till maturity. Terminal drought significantly reduced the yield and related traits compared with well‐watered crop; however, osmopriming improved the crop performance under terminal drought. Among different row spacings, wheat sown in 20‐cm spaced rows performed better during both years of study. Wheat cultivar Lasani‐2008 performed better than cultivar Triple Dwarf‐1 under both well‐watered and stress conditions. Maximum net returns and benefit–cost ratio were recorded from osmoprimed seeds of cultivar Lasani‐2008 sown in 20‐cm spaced rows under well‐watered condition. Nonetheless, osmoprimed seeds of cultivar Lasani‐2008 sown in 20‐cm spaced rows were better able to produce good yield under terminal drought.     

Thermal phenotyping of stomatal sensitivity in spring barley

Thermometry and thermography are alternative methods used for measuring stomatal conductivity via transpirative cooling. However, the influence of mixed soil–plant information contained in thermal images compared to thermometric spot measurements on the measurement quality and relationships to agronomic traits remains unclear. To evaluate their respective influence, canopy temperature was measured simultaneously by two infrared thermometers (thermometry), which were oriented oblique to the plant canopy and mounted on a tractor, and a hand‐held, nadir oriented thermal camera (thermography) in irrigated and drought‐stressed spring barley cultivar trials in 2011. Canopy temperatures were separated from soil temperatures and extracted from the thermal images by matching thermal and RGB images. Thermometric measurements conducted at the beginning of shooting during a stable period of high radiation were more closely related to total plant biomass and straw yield at harvest than thermography under both irrigated and drought‐stressed conditions. Taking into account the results of this evaluation, thermometry was used for assessing the agronomic importance of stomatal sensitivity, the earliness of stomatal closure, of spring barley cultivars subjected to different water supply in 2013. In this year, 16 spring barley cultivars were grown under mild drought stress and rainfed conditions. A stomatal sensitivity index was derived relating canopy temperatures of the cultivars grown under rainfed and drought‐stressed conditions to each other. Under rainfed conditions, stomatal sensitivity was negatively related to grain protein yield with a coefficient of determination of R² = .43. Under increasing terminal drought stress, positive regression slopes of stomatal sensitivity to grain yield, biomass yield and culms/m² were observed with coefficients of determination amounting to R² = .22, .31 and .36, respectively. Stomatal sensitivity negatively impacts agricultural production under well‐watered conditions, but maintains productivity under conditions of terminal drought.     

大麦种质资源成株期抗旱性鉴定及抗旱指标筛选

干旱是影响大麦生产的主要因素之一。在鉴定大麦种质资源成株期抗旱性的基础上,筛选抗旱指标,可为培育抗旱品种提供依据。本研究在2016和2017年在大麦生长主要需水期平均降雨量不足40 mm的甘肃省武威市进行田间试验,以30份大麦种质资源为研究对象,设置正常灌水和干旱胁迫处理,测定大麦株高、穗长、分蘖数、单株粒数、单株粒重、穗粒数、千粒重和产量,采用抗旱性度量值(D)、综合抗旱系数(CDC)、加权抗旱系数(WDC)、相关分析、频次分析、主成分分析、灰色关联度分析、隶属函数分析、聚类分析和逐步回归分析相结合的办法,对其进行抗旱性鉴定及抗旱指标的筛选。干旱胁迫对测定的各指标均有极显著影响。频次分析表明,各指标对干旱胁迫反应的敏感程度依次为产量、株高、单株粒重、穗长、单株粒数、分蘖数、穗粒数和千粒重。相关分析表明,产量与株高、穗长、分蘖数、单株粒数和单株粒重呈极显著正相关,与穗粒数呈显著正相关、与千粒重呈不显著正相关。主成分分析表明,5个主成分可以代表大麦抗旱性86.39%的原始数据信息量。基于D值、CDC值和WDC值的大麦种质资源抗旱性排序基本一致。灰色关联度分析表明,各指标单项抗旱系数值与D值间的关联度依次为产量、单株粒重、单株粒数、穗长、株高、分蘖、穗粒数和千粒重,各指标DC值与WDC值间的关联大小依次为单株粒重、产量、单株粒数、分蘖、穗长、穗粒数、株高和千粒重。根据D值进行聚类分析,将供试大麦种质资源依据抗旱性从强到弱分为5个抗旱等级,其中1级5份、2级1份、3级11份、4级10份、5级3份。除分蘖和千粒重外,其余指标的隶属函数值、CDC值、D值和WDC值均随着抗旱级别的升高而增大。回归分析表明, 5个测定指标均与D值密切相关。干旱胁迫对大麦种质资源成株期各指标均有极显著影响。确定了D值为适宜的抗旱鉴定指标。筛选出成株期抗旱性强的大麦种质资源甘啤7号、Z06-278-9、MERIT、NEVADA和西藏25,可为大麦抗旱育种、抗旱机制以及干旱调控缓解机制的研究提供技术支持。穗长、单株粒数、单株粒重、穗粒数、产量可作为大麦种质资源成株期简单、直观的抗旱评价指标。     

Evaluation of grain yield and its components in wheat cultivars and landraces under near optimal and drought conditions

In a 2-years experiment, 30 wheat cultivars and 21 landraces from different countries were tested under near optimum and drought stress conditions. Plant height, number of sterile spikelets per spike, spikelets per spike, number of kernels per spike, kernel weight per spike, 1000 kernel weight and grain yield were evaluated. The number of kernels per spike, 1000 kernel weight and especially yield were more sensitive to drought stress in the cultivars than plant height and number of spikelets per spike, while in the landraces these traits did not differ under drought stress compared to near optimum conditions. The average yield of cultivars was significantly better than the average yield of landraces under near optimum as well as drought stress conditions. Path coefficient analysis showed that for cultivars under near optimum conditions there was no significant direct association of any of the analysed characters with yield, while under drought stress conditions, number of kernels per spike had a significant positive direct effect. Under drought stress conditions, the number of sterile spikelets displayed a negative direct effect, while kernel weight per spike had a positive direct effect on yield. Hierarchical cluster analysis was used as a tool to classify cultivars and landraces according to their yield ability under near optimum and drought stress conditions. Among the cultivars, two groups out of five and among one of three in the landraces were characterised by high yields in both near optimum as well as under drought stress conditions. These genotypes may serve as sources of germplasm for breeding for drought tolerance. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Application of natural plant extracts improves the tolerance against combined terminal heat and drought stresses in bread wheat

Drought and heat are among the main abiotic stresses causing severe damage to the cereal productivity when occur at reproductive stages. In this study, ten wheat cultivars were screened for combined heat and drought tolerance imposed at booting, heading, anthesis and post‐anthesis stages, and role of the foliage applied plant extracts was evaluated in improving the performance of differentially responding wheat cultivars under terminal heat and drought stresses. During both years, wheat crop was raised under ambient temperature and 70% water holding capacity (WHC) till leaf boot stage. The plant extracts (3% each) of sorghum, brassica, sunflower and moringa were foliage applied at booting, anthesis and post‐anthesis stage; and after one week of application of these plant extracts, combined heat and drought was imposed at each respective stage. Heat and drought stresses were imposed at each respective stage by placing pots in glass canopies with temperature of 4 ± 2°C above than the ambient temperature in combination with drought stress (35% WHC) until maturity. Combination of drought and heat stresses significantly reduced the performance of tested wheat cultivars; however, stress at the booting and heading stages was more damaging than the anthesis and post‐anthesis stages. Cultivars Mairaj‐2008 and Chakwal‐50 remained green with extended duration for grain filling, resulting in the maintenance of number of grains per spike and 100‐grain weight under stress conditions and thus had better grain yield and water‐use efficiency. However, in cultivars Fsd‐2008, and Shafaq‐2006, the combined imposition of drought and heat accelerated the grain filling rate with decrease in grain filling duration, grain weight and grain yield. Foliar application of all the plant extracts improved the wheat performance under terminal heat and drought stress; however, brassica extract was the most effective. This improvement in grain yield, water‐use efficiency and transpiration efficiency due to foliage applied plant extracts, under terminal heat and drought stress, was owing to better stay‐green character and accumulation of more soluble phenolics, which imparted stress tolerance as indicated by relatively stable grain weight and grain number. In crux, growing of stay‐green wheat cultivars with better grain filling and foliage application of plant extracts may help improving the performance of bread wheat under combined heat and drought stresses.     

Allocation of Photosynthates and Grain Growth of Two Wheat Cultivars with Different Potential Grain Growth in Response to Pre- and Post-anthesis Shading

Grain yield in wheat is dependent on photosynthate production and allocation. Light intensity is one of the main factors affecting photosynthate production and allocation, and grain yield. This study was conducted to determine whether cultivars varying in grain number per spike and grain weight respond differently to pre‐anthesis shading (PRE) and post‐anthesis shading (POST), and to characterize the responses in production and allocation of photosynthate, yield and yield components, and spike traits. Both PRE and POST caused a decrease in both dry matter (DM) accumulation and allocation to grain. Cultivar Lumai 22, which has a large spike and large grains, was more sensitive to either PRE or POST. PRE reduced photosynthate production and partitioning to the spike in Lumai 22 at anthesis. In contrast, PRE had little influence on these parameters in the small‐spike, small‐grain cultivar Yannong 15. POST reduced the partitioning to the grain, especially in Lumai 22, for which marked reductions in biomass and grain yield were found for both the PRE and POST treatments. Changes in yield components attributable to shading varied with cultivars. The number of spikes m^?2 was not affected by either PRE or POST. Lumai 22 was more seriously affected by shading than Yannong 15 in terms of grain number per spike and weight per grain. The decreases in grain number or weight per spikelet in both the PRE and POST treatments took place mainly in the upper and basal spikelets, especially in Lumai 22. We concluded that the adaptability of the small‐spike, small‐grain cultivar Yannong 15 to either PRE or POST was much greater than that of the large‐spike, large‐grain cultivar Lumai 22 in terms of many characteristics closely related to grain yield. Hence, we suggest that, in areas where low light intensity often occurs, the small‐spike, small‐grain cultivar would be more likely to produce high, stable grain yields.     

Ontogenetic analysis of yield components and yield stability of durum wheat in water-limited environments

Summary One main reason for the slow improvement of durum wheat in water-limited environments is the lack of clear understanding of the interrelationships among yield components and their compensatory changes under low and erratic moisture availability. Five cultivars, varying in many physiological attributes, were tested under different drought-stress conditions in field and greenhouse experiments. The cause-effect relationships of duration of vegetative period, duration of grain-filling period, number of spikes per m², kernels per spike, kernel weight and grain yield per m² were assessed. Furthermore, yield stability was evaluated. Yield reduction was largest under mid-season stress (58%), followed by terminal stress (30%) and early stress (22%). Cultivar Po was very sensitive to terminal stress.Path-coefficient analysis revealed a complex pattern of relationships among the six variables. An increase in vegetative period reduced the grain-filling period under all conditions. It increased number of kernels per spike under non-stress conditions. The direct effect of spikes per m² on grain yield was significantly positive. However, more spikes per m² resulted in fewer kernels per spike and a low kernel weight and, as a result, a negative relationship with grain yield under early stress. Grain-filling period had a strong influence on grain yield via kernel weight. Kernels per spike had the largest direct effect on grain yield. However, it was negatively correlated with kernel weight, especially under terminal stress. Grain yield heavily depended on kernels per spike under early stress and grain-filling period and kernels per spike under terminal stress.Variation in drought susceptibility index among cultivars was significant under early and terminal stress conditions, but not under mid-stress conditions. Yield potential and stability were not correlated for the different drought-stress conditions.Longer grain-filling period, increased number of kernels per spike and limited spike number per m² can be used as selection criteria for sustainable yield in water-limited environments.     

Identification of bread wheat,durum wheat and barley cultivars adapted to dry areas of Southern Italy

Summary Among the cultivars of bread wheat, durum wheat and barley grown in the South of Italy, genetic variation for adaptation to the high temperature and drought stress conditions typical of the Mediterranean environment has been found.The basic data have been extrapolated from 5 years of Italian national network cultivar trials, where 20–30 cultivars were grown in replicated plot trials in 30–50 locations per year, including some where stress strongly affected grain yield.After careful identification of the most representative years and testing sites it was possible to characterise the cultivars on the basis of the grain yield in stress conditions and the Fischer & Maurer (1978) susceptibility index and to find genotypic differences sufficiently repeatable in years.The cultivars giving the best yield under stress associated with low susceptibility indices were in bread wheat: Etruria, Spada, Pandas, Centauro, Oderzo, Costantino and Gladio, in durum wheat: Aldura, Arcangelo, Adamello, Vespro and Capeiti, in barley: Fleuret, Barberousse, Jaidor, Express, Trebbia, Georgie, Dahlia, Criter and Magie.     

不同生育时期遮光对玉米籽粒灌浆特性及产量的影响

为探索不同时期遮光对玉米籽粒灌浆特性和产量的影响, 2012-2013年以玉米品种京科968与郑单958为试验材料, 在大田条件下用透光率50%的遮阳网分别于13叶全展期(T1)、吐丝期(T2)、吐丝后15 d (T3)遮光处理, 每期遮光7 d, 以自然光照为对照, 并利用Logistic方程y =A/(1+Be^–Cx)比较不同遮光处理玉米籽粒灌浆过程。结果表明,不同时期遮光均导致玉米穗粒数、千粒重和产量不同程度降低, 且遮光时期越晚降幅越大, 其中产量差异显著; 遮光导致灌浆高峰持续期与活跃灌浆天数(P)缩短, 最大灌浆速率(G_max)与平均灌浆速率均下降, 籽粒终极生长量(A)降低; 品种特性决定粒重、穗粒数与灌浆参数的关系, 同一品种的粒重与灌浆速率最大时的生长量(W_max)呈显著正相关, 品种间的粒重差异由活跃灌浆天数(P)决定, 同一品种的穗粒数与最大灌浆速率(Gmax)呈显著正相关, 品种间的穗粒数差异由灌浆速率最大时的生长量(W_max)决定。选择适宜品种, 提高籽粒灌浆速率最大时的生长量(W_max)与最大灌浆速率(G_max), 并延长活跃灌浆天数(P)是玉米在光胁迫环境下获得高产、稳产的重要途径。     

Effects of Zinc Deficiency and Drought on Grain Yield of Field-grown Wheat Cultivars in Central Anatolia

Drought stress and zinc (Zn) deficiency are serious abiotic stress factors limiting crop production in Turkey, especially in Central Anatolia. In this study, the effects of Zn deficiency and drought stress on grain yield of 20 wheat cultivars (16 bread wheat, Triticum aestivum; four durum wheat, Triticum durum cultivars) were investigated over 2 years under rainfed and irrigated conditions in Central Anatolia where drought and Zn deficiency cause substantial yield reductions. Plants were treated with (+Zn: 23 kg Zn ha⁻¹, as ZnSO₄·7H₂O) and without (−Zn) Zn under rainfed and irrigated conditions. Both Zn deficiency and rainfed treatments resulted in substantial decreases in grain yield. Significant differences were determined between both bread wheat and durum wheat cultivars in terms of drought stress tolerance. Considering drought sensitivity indices over 2 years, the bread wheat cultivars Yayla‐305, Gerek‐79, Dagdas‐94 and Bolal‐2973 were found to be more drought‐tolerant than the other cultivars under both −Zn and +Zn treatments. Especially the durum wheat cultivars Cakmak 79 and Selcuklu 97 showed much greater drought susceptibility under Zn deficiency, and irrigation alone was not sufficient to obtain satisfying grain yield without Zn application. The results indicate that sensitivity to Zn deficiency stress became more pronounced when plants were drought‐stressed. The effect of irrigation on grain yield was maximized when Zn was adequately supplied, leading to the suggestion that efficient water use in Central Anatolia seems to be highly dependent on the Zn nutritional status of plants.     

Leaf Photosynthesis During Grain Filling Under Mediterranean Environments: Are Barley or Traditional Wheat More Efficient Than Modern Wheats?

Barley is one of the most popular crops in dryland agricultural systems of Mediterranean areas, where it is assumed that barley, or traditional wheat cultivars, performs better than modern wheat under low‐yielding conditions. It was tested whether variations in net leaf photosynthetic rate (P_N) during grain filling provide any basis for the potential better performance of barley and traditional wheat compared to modern wheats in Mediterranean areas. Two groups of field experiments were conducted in Agramunt (NE Spain) during 2005/06 (06) and 2006/07 (07) growing seasons combining low and high nitrogen (N) availabilities under rain‐fed and irrigated conditions. Cultivars used in the first group of experiments were a traditional (Anza) and a modern (Soissons) wheat, whilst in a second group of experiments, a wheat (Soissons) and a barley (Sunrise) modern cultivars were used. Both wheat cultivars showed a similar P_N during grain filling but higher than that of the modern barley cultivar. Differences between species in P_N were maximized under high‐yielding conditions. There were no differences between cultivars in instantaneous water‐use efficiency. The barley cultivar showed a higher specific leaf area, but lower N content per unit of leaf area, than wheat. Photosynthetic nitrogen‐use efficiency was similar between the traditional and the modern cultivar but lower than barley. Decreases in P_N after anthesis were not exactly observable in SPAD measurements. In conclusion, we found no consistent differences between cultivars in terms of post‐anthesis photosynthetic activity to support the assumption of better performance under Mediterranean farm conditions of traditional wheat or barley against modern wheat.     

水分胁迫对甜玉米主要农艺性状及产量的影响

在大棚内采用人工供水的方法,研究不同水分胁迫下甜玉米品种主要农艺性状与产量的关系。结果表明,轻度干旱胁迫下可用株高、茎粗、散粉至吐丝间隔期(ASI)、穗粗、每穗粒数、千粒重等6个性状耐旱系数作为品种耐旱性鉴定的指标,而中度干旱胁迫下可用穗位叶面积、散粉至吐丝间隔期(ASI)、穗粗、每穗粒数、出籽率、千粒重这6个性状耐旱系数预测品种产量的耐旱系数。在不同程度水分胁迫下,散粉至吐丝间隔期(ASI)、穗粗、每穗粒数、千粒重等4个性状耐旱系数是不同品种耐旱性鉴定的重要指标,除此之外,株高、茎粗、穗位叶面积等决定植株形态的性状指标也对甜玉米耐旱性起一定作用。     

Genetic Analysis of Grain Yield and Other Traits of Early‐Maturing Maize Inbreds under Drought and Well‐Watered Conditions

Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important staple food crop in West and Central Africa (WCA). However, its production is constrained by drought. Knowledge and understanding of the genetics of hybrid performance under drought is invaluable in designing breeding strategies for improving maize yield. One hundred and fifty hybrids obtained by crossing 30 inbreds in sets using the North Carolina Design II plus six checks were evaluated under drought and well‐watered conditions for 2 years at three locations in Nigeria. The objectives of the studies were to (i) determine the mode of gene action controlling grain yield and other important agronomic traits of selected early inbred lines, (ii) examine the relationship between per se performance of inbreds and their hybrids and (iii) identify appropriate testers for maize breeding programmes in WCA. General combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) mean squares were significant (P < 0.01) for grain yield and other traits under the research environments. The GCA accounted for 64.5 % and 62.3 % of the total variation for grain yield under drought and well‐watered conditions, indicating that additive gene action largely controlled the inheritance of grain yield of the hybrids. Narrow‐sense heritability was 67 % for grain yield under drought and 49 % under well‐watered conditions. The correlations between traits of early‐maturing parental lines and their hybrids were significant (P < 0.01) under drought, well‐watered and across environments. Mid‐parent and better‐parent heterosis for grain yield were 45.3 % and 18.4 % under drought stress and 111.9 % and 102.6 % under well‐watered conditions. Inbreds TZEI 31, TZEI 17, TZEI 129 and TZEI 157 were identified as the best testers. Drought‐tolerant hybrids with superior performance under stress and non‐stress conditions could be obtained through the accumulation of favourable alleles for drought tolerance in both parental lines.     

Environmental and genetic determination of protein content and grain yield in durum wheat under Mediterranean conditions

The unpredictability of the Mediterranean climate causes fluctuations in wheat yield and quality, but offers the opportunity for obtaining high‐quality durum wheat in terms of grain protein content. Twenty‐five durum wheat genotypes were grown under irrigated and rainfed conditions at each of two latitudes in Spain during 1998 and 1999. Differences between latitudes in grain protein content and chlorophyll content in the flag leaf were attributable to nitrogen fertilization management. Cycle length until anthesis was less affected by the environment than grain‐filling duration, and was longer under irrigated conditions than in the rainfed sites. A negative asymptotic curve was the best equation to fit the relationship between yield and protein content, suggesting that yield improvements in fertile environments may be attained with negligible reductions in protein content. ‘Jabato’, ‘Waha’, ‘Lagost‐3’, ‘Massara‐1’ and ‘Vit?on’ showed medium to high yield, yield stability and high protein content. Chlorophyll content in the flag leaf, measured at anthesis with the soil‐plant analysis development (SPAD) portable field unit, may be useful for the fast and cheap detection of durum wheat genotypes with high grain protein content in drought‐stressed Mediterranean environments.     

Foliage‐applied sodium nitroprusside and hydrogen peroxide improves resistance against terminal drought in bread wheat

Terminal drought is threatening the wheat productivity worldwide, which is consumed as a staple food by millions across the globe. This study was conducted to examine the influence of foliage‐applied stress signalling molecules hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂; 50, 100, 150 μm ) and nitric oxide donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP; 50, 100, 150 μm ) on resistance against terminal drought in two bread wheat cultivars Mairaj‐2008 and BARS‐2009. These stress signalling molecules were applied at anthesis stage (BBCH 61); drought was then imposed by maintaining pots at 35% water holding capacity. Terminal drought caused significant reduction in grain yield of both tested bread wheat cultivars; however, foliage application of both stress signalling molecules at either concentration improved the performance of both bread wheat cultivars. Maximum improvement in 100‐grain weight (12.2%), grains per spike (19.7%), water‐use efficiency (WUE; 19.8%), chlorophyll content index (10.7%), total soluble phenolics (21.6%) and free leaf proline (34.3%), and highest reduction in leaf malondialdehyde contents (20.4%) was recorded when H₂O₂ was foliage‐applied at 100 μm . Foliage application of SNP enhanced the grains per spike, 100‐grain weight and grain yield by 14.9%, 11.3% and 20.1%, respectively, than control. The foliage‐applied stress signalling molecules improved the accumulation of soluble phenolics, proline and glycine betaine with simultaneous reduction in malondialdehyde contents, which enabled wheat plants to sustain the biological membranes under stress resulting in better stay green (high chlorophyll contents) under drought. This helped improving the grain number, grain weight, grain yield, WUE and transpiration efficiency. In crux, foliage‐applied H₂O₂ and SNP, at pre‐optimized rate, may be opted to lessen the drought‐induced yield losses in bread wheat in climate change conditions.     

37个玉米新品种（组合）耐旱性评价

为评价37个玉米新品种（组合）的耐旱性潜力,采用4种控水处理对玉米植株性状和产量性状进行了分析评价。结果表明,水分胁迫对穗长、秃尖长、行粒数、百粒重、ASI和单株产量6个性状有显著或极显著影响。水分胁迫使玉米品种抽丝散粉间隔期延长,秃尖变长,结实率降低,行粒数减少,籽粒变小,百粒重下降,单株产量降低。应用模糊数学隶属函数法综合评价分析,‘帮豪玉509’、‘忠玉9号’、D36、BH0310和D30综合耐旱性较强,D23、D3、D26和BH3404综合耐旱性较差。     

Likening Between the Effect of Drought and Terminal Water-stress Simulated by a Senescing Agent in Triticale

In 1994 four field experiments were conducted at two sites (northern and southern Spain), and in two environments at each site (irrigated and dryland conditions) in order to compare the effect of drought with the stress caused by chemical treatment with a senescing agent (potassium iodide, KI). A concentration of 0.3 % of KI was applied 10 days after anthesis on triticale Trujillo (X Tnticosecale Wittmack), and four nearisogenic lines derived from it.
The effect of the senescing agent on grain yield was higher in irrigated conditions than in dryland. The reduction in grain yield due to drought was higher than that caused by KI treatment, but both responses were correlated.
Drought and KI treatment had a different effect on yield components since water stress previous to anthesis markedly reduced the number of spikes per m². The effect of the chemical on the number of grains per spike was similar and correlated significantly with the reduction caused by drought. Dry matter accumulation of the grains decreased rapidly following chemical spray due to an important effect of KI on the grain filling rate. No association was found between the reduction in grain weight caused by drought and by KI treatment.     

Elevated CO2 modulates the effects of drought and heat stress on plant water relations and grain yield in wheat

To investigate the interactive effects of drought, heat and elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentration ([CO₂]) on plant water relations and grain yield in wheat, two wheat cultivars with different drought tolerance (Gladius and Paragon) were grown under ambient and elevated [CO₂], and were exposed to post‐anthesis drought and heat stress. The stomatal conductance, plant water relation parameters, abscisic acid concentration in leaf and spike, and grain yield components were examined. Both stress treatments and elevated [CO₂] reduced the stomatal conductance, which resulted in lower leaf relative water content and leaf water potential. Drought induced a significant increase in leaf and spike abscisic acid concentrations, while elevated [CO₂] showed no effect. At maturity, post‐anthesis drought and heat stress significantly decreased the grain yield by 21.3%–65.2%, while elevated [CO₂] increased the grain yield by 20.8% in wheat, which was due to the changes of grain number per spike and thousand grain weight. This study suggested that the responses of plant water status and grain yield to extreme climatic events (heat and drought) can be influenced by the atmospheric CO₂ concentration.     

Drought Effect on Grain Number and Grain Weight at Spike and Spikelet Level in Six‐Row Spring Barley

Water is the primary regulator of yield formation in cereals. The effect of water limitation and its timing on development of yield components were studied in detail at spike and spikelet level in spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). An experiment with three watering treatments (control watering, CONT; drought prior to pollination, DR1 and terminal drought, DR2) was set up in a large greenhouse (20 × 30 m). In addition to watering treatments, two NPK fertilizer application rates (0 and 120 kg N ha^?1) were used to investigate the fertilizer effect. The drought effect exceeded the effect of fertilizer application for grain number and single grain weight (SGW). DR1 reduced the number of grains, whereas DR2 reduced both SGW and the number of grains. Resuming the watering at pollination (DR1) restored photosynthesis and enhanced grain filling, resulting in almost similar SGW in DR1 and CONT plants. Spikelets in the upper mid‐section of the spike dominated yield formation in all treatments. This was particularly emphasised in DR1 plants as 58 % of the grain yield was produced in spikelets 3–5, whereas in DR2 and CONT plants it was 39 % and 36 %, respectively. Hence, drought prior pollination strongly reduced yielding capacity (=grain number) in apical and basal spikelets. DR1 and DR2 reduced substantially grain yield and grain N yield resulting in low nitrogen use efficiency.     

Spring Barley Responses to Row Spacing and Fungicide Triadimefon in Regions with a Short Crop-growing Season

Aspects of intensive management practices such as high-yielding cultivars, narrow-row spacings and fungicide treatments could potentially increase cereal yields in regions with a short crop-growing season and occasionally dry and hot weather. A field experiment was carried out at McGill University, Canada for three years (1987 to 1989) to test the effects of triadimefon (1-[4-chlorophenoxy]-3,3-dimethyl-1-[1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl]-2-butanone, or Bayleton, a trade name) fungicide (0 vs. 140 g a.i. ha⁻¹) and row spacing (10 vs. 20 cm) on the yield components, yield and other agronomic traits (spike emergence, days to maturity, leaf disease and plant height) of spring barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.) cv. Cadette, Laurier and Leger. A cultivar by row spacing interaction resulted in a 11 to 13.5 % increase in grain yield due to narrow rows for Laurier in two out of the three years and up to 16 % for Leger in one year. Over the three years grain yields were on average increased 6 to 12 % due to use of the narrower row spacing. Fungicide application to barley at the early heading stage effectively controlled leaf diseases without influence on yield components or grain yield. Our results indicate that some components of intensive management such as narrow row spacing can be applicable in regions with a short crop-growing season.