Yield and Agronomic Characters of Tropical Maize (Zea mays L.) Cultivars under Different Irrigation Regimes

Drought spells are unpredictable under tropical conditions and can occur at every growth stage of the maize plants. Little is known about the reactions of tropical maize cultivars to water shortage. A set of Thai cultivars was examined in the field during the dry season. Three stress situations were imposed: prolonged stress throughout the growing season, pre- and post-anthesis stress. Pre-anthesis water stress delayed flowering and especially the data of silking. Thus, the anthesis-silking interval was wider. Prolonged water stress decreased grain yield mainly due to a low number of kernels and/or thousand kernel weight (TKW). Post-anthesis stress mainly reduced TKW grain set per ear. Relief from pre-anthesis stress increased grain yield by a grater number of kernels and higher TKW as compared to prolonged stress. Genotypic differences were high for the anthesis-silking interval following pre-anthesis stress. Low yielding, early but generally drought-stable cultivars existed as well as cultivars which were generally high yielding even under water stress because of a good residual yield. Some cultivars were resistant to pre-anthesis stress but not to post-anthesis stress and vice versa. It can be concluded that ample genotypic variability exists for adaptation to varying situations of pre-and post-anthesis stress within tropical maize cultivars.     

Identification of cultivars of pasture legumes (Centrosema macrocarpum,C. pubescens and C. sp.n.) by acid polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of cotyledons storage proteins

Summary An electrophoretic procedure was developed for storage proteins which can discriminate cultivars of forage legumes, Centrosema macrocarpum, C. pubescens and C. sp.n. Proteins extracted from cotyledons were separated in 10% polyacrylamide gel containing 10% sucrose. Electrophoretic patterns are presented to illustrate the results that can be obtained with the procedure described. Cultivars of all three species were distinguishable based upon the variation in their acid soluble seed proteins.Joint publiccation of the Department of Food Science, University of Manitoba (No 101) and Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical-CIAT.     

Genetic variation and cultivar identification of Jamaican yam germplasm by random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis

Summary We have used random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis to characterize eleven cultivars of the five economically most important yam species grown in Jamaica (Dioscorea alata, D. cayenensis, D. rotundata, D. trifida and D. esculenta). Amplification of genomic DNA samples with nine different arbitrary 10mer primers revealed a total of 338 different band positions, ranging in size from 0.3 to 2.5 kb. RAPD patterns proved to be highly reproducible and somatically stable. While no variation was observed among plants belonging to the same cultivar, a large number of intervarietal and interspecific polymorphisms enabled us to reliably discriminate between all Jamaican cultivars investigated.     

Yield Formation in Modern and Old Oat Cultivars under High and Low Nitrogen Regimes

Contribution of nitrogen (N) and plant breeding to yield formation of oats ( Avena sativa L.) was evaluated with two years'field experiments. These consisted of four Finnish oat cultivars released between 1935 and 1988 and one breeding line. Three rates of N application were used (0, 90, and 120 kg N ha⁻¹) and 19 morpho-physiological traits, including maturity class, plant structure and plant stand structure, were assessed.
The modern cultivar out-yielded the old one under low and high N, indicating that return of old varieties into cultivation under low-input conditions is unlikely to be feasible. An oat ideotype for low productivity conditions must be characterized. Furthermore, N contributed more than oat breeding to several traits studies. However, in some cases N appeared to affect the traits measured in a negative manner. Use of N increased production of both above-ground vegetative biomass and panicle weight without changing HI significantly. However, plant breeding slightly reduced the production of vegetative phytomass and increased the grain: straw ratio by 10 %. Moreover, genetic gains in shortening straw length, increasing lodging resistance, and improving BYDV tolerance were partly lost when high rates of N application were used. The contribution of N and oat breeding to other morpho-physiological traits is discussed.     

Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of wheat gliadins: the use of a moving boundary for improved resolution

Summary The process of the separation of gliadin proteins of wheat, using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, was studied in detail. It was shown that electrophoresis is a dynamic process during which the pH of the gel changes together with the potassium ion concentration. The most positive effect on the separation of the gliadins was generated by a moving front, which is a boundary between regions with a low concentration of K⁺ ions and a low pH, and region with a high concentration of K⁺ ions and a high pH, after optimization of the concentrations of the cations and anions in the electrode solutions. The finding was exploited for the development of an extremely simple electrophoresis system, in which buffers were not needed for obtaining a high resolution. The system was further improved by applying a stacking gel. The advantages of this system are discussed. This new approach may be useful for improving electrophoresis systems for other applications.     

不同时期三个小麦主栽品种叶片光合作用的研究

不同时期三个小麦主栽品种不同层次叶片的最大光合速率均出现在盛花期以前。在灌浆期间,当前高产良种鲁麦14的光合速率下降速度较慢,比早期品种碧蚂1号和济南2号有一个较长的高光合持续期,这种差异在下部叶片表现得更为明显一些,尤其是倒3叶。从不同叶位叶片看,挑旗期参试品种均以倒2叶光合速率最高;盛花期以后,旗叶则逐渐占明显的优势。本文用叶片光合速率与叶面积的乘积,即全叶同化速率为指标,可较全面地反映不同品种叶片同化能力的大小。鲁麦14在灌装期间全叶同化速率占一定优势。叶片比叶重是鉴定筛选高光合速率个体的简单可靠的间接指标。叶片气孔阻力对光合速率有一定负效应,而叶片蒸腾对光合速率则有一定正效应。盛花期以前,叶片光合主要受气孔因素制约,而在生育后期,非气孔因素亦有很重要的作用。对小麦高产育种,尤其是光合特性的改良问题进行了讨论。     

Reselection of a Pearl Millet Cultivar Utilizing Residual Variability for Downy Mildew Reaction*

‘BJ 104’ was the most widely grown pearl millet hybrid in India until it became susceptible to downy mildew (DM) in 1984—85. Residual variability for resistance was found in both parental lines, 5141 B (maintainer of 5141 A) and J 104, and through four generations of pedigree selection under intense disease pressure in the DM nursery, two lines, IC-MA841 (from 5141 B) and ICMP 84814 (from J 104), were selected resulting in a reconstituted DM resistant hybrid (‘ICMH 84814’) which was equal in yield to the original ‘BJ 104’. The reconstituted hybrid, though phenotypically similar, can be distinguished from “BJ 104” being slightly taller, flowers later, has heavier heads, and 1000-seed weight, but tillers less. A similar exercise was attempted on Tifton 23 B, the female parent of the first widely grown hybrid (‘HB 3’— the male parent was also J 104), but no variability for resistance to DM was found.     

DNA fingerprinting in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) with oligonucleotide probes for simple repetitive sequences

Summary Soybean DNA fingerprints were analyzed by digoxigenin-labeled oligonucleotide probes complementary to simple repetitive sequences. The clearest and most polymorphic patterns were obtained with (AAT)₆ as a probe, with which all 47 soybean cultivars tested could be distinguished. However, DNA fingerprints of individuals within cultivars showed the same pattern. Using (CT)₈, (GAA)₅ or (AAGG)₄ as probes, clear polymorphic patterns among cultivars and accessions in the subgenus Soja (Glycine max and Glycine soja) were not observed, while quite different patterns were found in accessions in the subgenus Glycine. The results suggest that G. max and G. soja are closer in their genome structure. DNA fingerprints of reciprocal crosses between cultivars and accessions in the subgenus Soja were similar, and contained bands of both parents. In an F₂ population from these crosses, such bands segregated in a Mendelian fashion.     

The use of reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography as an aid to the identification of European barley cultivars

Summary A reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) system was used to separate the storage proteins (hordeins) extracted from European barley cultivars. From a total of 38 barleys tested, 26 types of hordein patterns could be distinguished after RP-HPLC. This appears to be a marked improvement in resolution over that achieved in a similar survey of European barley cultivars using SDS polyacrylamide electrophoresis (32 hordein patterns resolved by SDS PAGE from a total of 160 spring and winter barleys tested).Different hordein patterns were resolved by RP-HPLC within each of two groups of barley previously classified by SDS PAGE as indistinguishable within groups (three distinct patterns identified in a total of five cultivars tested from group 1A and five patterns observed among eight cultivars from group 3B). Thus RP-HPLC achieves a higher resolution than undirectional electrophoresis and promises to be a valuable aid in the identification of European barley cultivars.     

不同降雨年型下水分处理对大穗型小麦品种籽粒灌浆及产量的影响

在大田条件下，探讨了不同降水年型不同水分处理条件下大穗型小麦品种籽粒灌浆及产量的变化。结果表明：通过用不同方程对籽粒生长动态进行拟合，Cubic方程最精确。2000～2001干早年型W和Ws与两个灌浆持续期参数(Se、S)相关性显著．2001～2002丰雨年型W和Ws与3个灌浆速率参数(V、Vs、Vmax)间相关性达显著水平。两年度相比，2000～2001年度籽粒灌浆持续期短，灌浆速率小，导致粒重降低。灌水对灌浆参数的效应年际间存在差异，2000～2001年度随灌水次数增多，S和Se延长，灌浆速率降低；而2001～2002年度随灌水次数增多，S和Se缩短，灌浆速率以灌—水处理最小．灌两水处理最高。灌水对产量的影响，2000～2001年度显著增产，2001～2002年度处理间无显著差异，灌三水处理较灌两水处理反而减产。