Drought Tolerance and Water Use of Cereal Crops: A Focus on Sorghum as a Food Security Crop in Sub‐Saharan Africa

Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) faces twin challenges of water stress and food insecurity – challenges that are already pressing and are projected to grow. Sub‐Saharan Africa comprises 43 % arid and semi‐arid area, which is projected to increase due to climate change. Small‐scale, rainfed agriculture is the main livelihood source in arid and semi‐arid areas of SSA. Because rainfed agriculture constitutes more than 95 % of agricultural land use, water scarcity is a major limitation to production. Crop production, specifically staple cereal crop production, will have to adapt to water scarcity and improved water productivity (output per water input) to meet food requirements. We propose inclusion and promotion of drought‐tolerant cereal crops in arid and semi‐arid agro‐ecological zones of SSA where water scarcity is a major limitation to cereal production. Sorghum uniquely fits production in such regions, due to high and stable water‐use efficiency, drought and heat tolerance, high germplasm variability, comparative nutritional value and existing food value chain in SSA. However, sorghum is socio‐economically and geographically underutilized in parts of SSA. Sorghum inclusion and/or promotion in arid and semi‐arid areas of SSA, especially among subsistence farmers, will improve water productivity and food security.     

Improved Cold and Drought Tolerance of Doubled Haploid Maize Plants Selected for Resistance to Prooxidant tert‐Butyl Hydroperoxide

To improve the abiotic stress tolerance of maize (Zea mays L.), doubled haploid (DH) plants were produced by in vitro selection of microspores exposed to tert‐butyl hydroperoxide (t‐BuOOH) as a powerful prooxidant This study investigated the tolerance of the progenies of t‐BuOOH‐selected DH lines to oxidative stress, cold and drought in controlled environment pot experiments by analyses of photosynthetic electron transport and CO₂ assimilation processes, chlorophyll bleaching and lipid peroxidation of leaves. Our results demonstrated that the t‐BuOOH‐selected DH plants exhibited enhanced tolerance not only to oxidative stress‐induced by t‐BuOOH but also to cold and drought stresses. In addition, they showed elevated activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, glutathione reductase and glutathione S‐transferase when compared with the DH lines derived from microspores that were not exposed to t‐BuOOH and to the original hybrid plants. The results suggest that the simultaneous up‐regulation of several antioxidant enzymes may contribute to the oxidative and cold stress tolerance of the t‐BuOOH‐selected DH lines, and that the in vitro microspore selection represents a potential way to improve abiotic stress tolerance in maize.     

菠萝灌溉施肥技术研究进展

季节性干旱是限制菠萝增产提质增效的重要原因,发展“以水促肥,以肥促产,水肥高效耦合”的现代灌溉施肥技术,是应对季节性干旱,促进菠萝增产提质增效的重要途径。本文从华南地区季节性干旱时空分布特征、干旱胁迫对菠萝生长发育的影响、我国菠萝水肥管理现状、灌溉施肥技术对菠萝生长发育的影响等4个方面简要阐述了我国菠萝灌溉施肥技术发展的必要性,重点从现代灌溉施肥方式、耗水规律和养分吸收规律等3方面总结了菠萝灌溉施肥技术研究进展,并结合研究进展提出我国菠萝灌溉施肥技术目前存在的问题,探讨未来可能的研究重点和发展方向,为菠萝灌溉施肥技术的研究与应用提供参考。     

芝麻不同生育阶段需水特性与干旱灌溉应用研究

探讨芝麻不同生育阶段需水特性与干旱灌溉水分生产效率,为芝麻高产栽培的合理灌溉和水分管理提供科学依据,2013-2018年在安徽、新疆等不同地域,选用6个芝麻主栽品种,开展芝麻不同生育阶段需水特性和灌溉水利用研究。结果表明：盆栽芝麻的全生育期蒸腾需水量平均为283.59mm,品种间差异大,形成100kg芝麻籽粒蒸腾需水量为263.56mm(175.7t/666.7m²),苗期、蕾期、初花期、盛花期、终花期、成熟期的蒸腾需水量分别为18.76mm、21.91mm、21.03mm、149.28mm、71.21mm和34.79mm,蒸腾模系数为5.89%、7.21%、6.85%、47.07%、23.93%和9.05%；盛花期最大,出苗期最小。池栽芝麻全生育期需水量531.36mm,其中株间蒸发量、蒸腾量分别占全生育期需水量的46.1%和53.9%；株间蒸发量最大的时期为苗期；蒸腾量最大的时期为花期。芝麻苗期、花期和成熟期需水模系数平均为18.65%、66.79%和14.56%。合肥基地出苗期、临泉基地花期遇旱喷灌,水分生产效率高达0.61kg/m³和0.65kg/m³；新疆精河基地按需滴灌处理比传统滴灌方式的水分生产效率提高43.28%,节水19.61%,这对水资源匮乏的新疆干旱区来说意义重大。芝麻需水量与栽培条件、品种、气温(r＝0.99)等密切相关。在芝麻不同生育阶段遇旱灌溉是提高水分生产效率和产量的关键措施之一。     

Root architecture of sorghum genotypes differing in root angles under different water regimes

Plant root architecture offers the potential for increasing soil water accessibility, particularly under water-limited conditions. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the root architecture in two genotypes of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) differing in root angles and to assess the influence of different deficit irrigation regimes on root architecture. The response of two sorghum genotypes, ‘Early Hegari-Sart’ (EH; steep root angle) and ‘Bk7’ (shallow root angle) to four irrigation treatments was investigated in two replicated outdoor studies using large pots. The results indicated that EH possessed steeper brace and crown root angles, fewer brace roots, greater root biomass, and root length density than Bk7 at deeper soil depths (i.e., 15–30 and 30–45 cm) compared with a shallower depth (i.e., 0–15 cm). Across the soil profile, EH had greater root length density and length of roots of small diameter (<1 mm) than Bk7. Accordingly, EH showed more rapid soil-water capture than Bk7. Different levels of irrigation input greatly affected root architecture. Severe deficit irrigation (25% of full crop transpiration throughout the season) increased the angle and number of crown roots, root biomass, and root length density compared with 75 and 100% of full crop transpiration treatments. Consequently, root system architecture can be effectively manipulated through both genotypic selection and irrigation management to ensure optimal performance under different levels of soil available water.     

Analysis of residuals for stability assessment of rice genotypes

The analysis of residuals computes general adaptabilities (GAs) and specific adaptabilities (SAs) of genotypes similar to combining ability analysis. The residual analysis is simple and robust being based on the first-degree statistics, and is assumption-free. A unique statistic of ratio of variances (VR) of residuals for individual genotypes allows comparing their stability. The residuals analysis of genotype × environment (GE) interactions was performed for grain yield (t ha^?1) of 25 rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes, including two developed by marker-assisted selection for root traits quantitative trait loci (QTL), tested across 16 sites. Results were compared with the linear regression analysis for (i) full set of 16 sites showing adequacy of linear model and (ii) subset of nine-poor sites showing inadequacy of linear model. There was agreement between the two analyses for situation (i) but not for situation (ii) when the regression analysis fails because of nonlinearity but the residual analysis retains its validity.     

近55年来河西地区干旱时空演变特征及其与ENSO事件的关系

根据河西地区14个气象站点1961-2015年的逐月气象观测资料，基于SPEI指数采用Mann-Kendall趋势检验法、反距离加权插值(IDW)等方法分析了近55年来河西地区年代际、四季干旱及空间变化特征，并探讨了ENSO 事件与该区干旱的关系。结果表明：在年代际变化上，自20世纪90年代以来河西地区干旱次数增多、干旱程度加重。季节时间变化上，河西地区春、夏、秋季均呈干旱化趋势，春季干旱化趋势最为突出，夏季次之，冬季略呈变湿趋势。空间变化上，整个河西地区春季均呈干旱化趋势，而且大部分地区的春旱趋势极为显著，其中春旱趋势最显著的地方是金塔；冬季整个研究区趋于湿润化。各季节干旱高频区分别集中在：春季在金塔、民勤地区，夏季在河西西北部，秋季在河西中东部及西部的安西—玉门一线，冬季在101°E以西的河西地区。河西地区秋季SPEI与SSTA指数的相关性最为显著，春季次之，夏季最弱。ENSO事件发生强度与河西地区SPEI影响因子的多项式拟合关系表明，ENSO事件强度对温度的影响高于降水；其中在ENSO暖事件(厄尔尼诺事件)发生年份，气温有明显的上升趋势；在ENSO冷事件(拉尼娜事件)发生年份，少数年份降水有所增加，对气温的影响较弱。     

Atmospheric humidity and genotype are key determinants of the diurnal stomatal conductance pattern

Great understanding of the genotypic difference in diurnal stomatal conductance (g_s) pattern and the key determinants of the pattern is important for saving water by adopting cultivars appropriately. Fifteen wheat genotypes were studied under different soil conditions and various meteorological conditions with pot cultivation in rain shelter for two years. Genotype and air humidity were found to be key determinants of diurnal g_s pattern. All genotypes under low relative humidity (LRH) and most genotypes under high relative humidity (HRH) displayed a gradual decline pattern from morning through the afternoon. Under moderate relative humidity (MRH), all genotypes present a single-peak curve pattern, but they differed in peak time, which may lead to unreliable g_s comparison between genotypes and get ostensible contrasting materials. The stomatal conductance was significantly different among genotypes under LRH and the increased g_s magnitude is also significantly different when it was compared between LRH and HRH. The present results provide new thinking for selecting and adopting appropriate cultivars with specific stomata traits for the area with various meteorological conditions.     

云南芥菜型油菜资源品质及苗期耐旱性评价

为研究芥菜型油菜的耐旱性，对150份云南芥菜型油菜地方品种的品质及苗期不同干旱程度下植株地上 及地下部进行研究。结果表明，参试芥菜型油菜耐旱性总体表现较好，品质变异丰富，其中油酸、芥酸变异系数大 于1，依据品质性状参试品种大致聚为三类；中度及重度干旱均能显著影响油菜地上部及根系的生长，其中对根系 影响更大；各品质性状与耐旱性相关分析表明，中度干旱条件下，耐旱性与含油量及芥酸、花生烯酸2种极长链脂肪 酸呈显著正相关，与5种长链脂肪酸硬脂酸、棕榈酸、油酸、亚油酸、亚麻酸为显著负相关，而重度干旱条件下均不相 关，同一品种在不同程度干旱下其耐旱性有差别；含油量与极长链脂肪酸呈显著正相关，与长链脂肪酸及蛋白含量 呈显著负相关，极长链脂肪酸与长链脂肪酸间呈极显著负相关。共筛出8个综合耐旱性强的材料。     

基于条件植被温度指数的夏玉米生长季干旱预测研究

为验证条件植被温度指数(VTCI)在夏玉米生长季干旱预测中的适用性,以河北中部平原为研究区,应用求和自回归移动平均(ARIMA)模型及季节性求和自回归移动平均(SARIMA)模型,对该地区VTCI时间序列数据进行分析建模预测。首先基于49个气象站点所在像素的VTCI时间序列数据,选取不同长度时间序列建立ARIMA模型,并分析时间序列长度与预测精度间关系,以期为时间序列长度选择提供依据;然后选择理想长度的VTCI时间序列数据,分别建立ARIMA模型和SARIMA模型,用于研究区域2017年夏玉米生长季VTCI预测,并分析评价两模型预测精度;最后采用性能较好的ARIMA模型逐像素建模预测,得到2016-2018年9月上旬至下旬VTCI预测结果。结果表明:基于ARIMA模型的VTCI预测精度与时间序列长度未呈现明显的相关关系,但随时间序列长度增加,模型预测精度逐渐趋于稳定;ARIMA模型对干旱的预测精度高于基于SARIMA模型,其1步、2步、3步VTCI预测结果均方根误差较SARIMA模型分别降低0. 06、0. 07、0. 09;ARIMA模型在不同年份夏玉米生长季VTCI1~3步的预测精度稳定性较好,2016-2018年1步、2步和3步VTCI预测结果绝对误差绝对值大于0. 20的像素平均百分比分别为5. 84%、6. 38%、8. 72%。