Past, present and future criteria to breed crops for water-limited environments in West Africa

Asia's Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s has largely bypassed West Africa, and “modern” (high-yielding, input responsive) germplasm for staple crops has found comparatively little adoption, except for systems that are have good access to markets and sufficient water resources. It is unlikely, however, that breeding objectives conserving traditional crop characteristics as found in extensive systems would have been more successful. The authors identify systems caught in the agricultural transition from subsistence to intensified, market-oriented production as the most important target for crop improvement, and provide examples of new breeding objectives for cowpea, sorghum and upland rice. In each of these cases, breeders, with the help of physiologists, have developed innovative plant-type concepts that combine improved yield potential and input responsiveness with specific traditional crop characteristics that remain essential during the agricultural transition. In the case of cowpea, dual-purpose varieties were developed that produce a good grain yield due to an erect plant habit, then produce new leaves enabling a second harvest of green foliage. For upland rice systems that are limited by labour (mainly needed to control weeds that abound due to shortened fallow periods), a weed competitive plant type was developed from Oryza sativa × Oryza glaberrima crosses. Lastly, sorghum breeders who had previously deselected photoperiod sensitivity are now re-inserting sensitivity into plants having “modern” architecture, in order to allow for flexible sowing dates while maintaining an agro-ecologically optimal time of flowering near the end of the wet season. The ecophysiological basis of these plant types, their place in current and future cropping systems, as well as the problem of under-funding for their realisation, are discussed.     

Evaluation of the RZWQM-CERES-Maize hybrid model for maize production

The root zone water quality model (RZWQM) was developed primarily for water quality research with a generic plant growth module primarily serving as a sink for plant nitrogen and water uptake. In this study, we coupled the CERES-Maize Version 3.5 crop growth model with RZWQM to provide RZWQM users with the option for selecting a more comprehensive plant growth model. In the hybrid model, RZWQM supplied CERES with daily soil water and nitrogen contents, soil temperature, and potential evapotranspiration, in addition to daily weather data. CERES-Maize supplied RZWQM with daily water and nitrogen uptake, and other plant growth variables (e.g., root distribution and leaf area index). The RZWQM-CERES hybrid model was evaluated with two well-documented experimental datasets distributed with DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer) Version 3.5, which had various nitrogen and irrigation treatments. Simulation results were compared to the original DSSAT-CERES-Maize model. Both models used the same plant cultivar coefficients and the same soil parameters as distributed with DSSAT Version 3.5. The hybrid model provided similar maize prediction in terms of yield, biomass and leaf area index, as the DSSAT-CERES model when the same soil and crop parameters were used. No overall differences were found between the two models based on the paired t test, suggesting successful coupling of the two models. The hybrid model offers RZWQM users access to a rigorous new plant growth model and provides CERES-Maize users with a tool to address soil and water quality issues under different cropping systems.     

基于深度相机的玉米株型参数提取方法研究

提出了一种基于骨架提取的改进算法,可实现在大田环境下,使用PMD深度相机快速、无损测量玉米株型参数。首先利用深度图像RGB伪彩色和深度距离信息,提取深度图像的骨架,排除复杂背景干扰,得到单株玉米的二值骨架图像;然后利用基于角点检测的改进归类算法提取骨架图像特征点;最后建立骨架图像中特征点与深度图像的对应关系,利用空间几何数学方法,结合特征点计算出玉米的3种株型参数,即株高、茎粗、叶倾角。农田实验对比分析表明,所提方法的株高测量结果与人工测量结果的相关系数 r 为0.986,最大相对误差小于2 cm,农田作物育种抗逆性分析还表明玉米株型参数与抗倒伏性具有显著相关性。     

采用区域生长法分割根系CT图像的改进算法

提出了一种基于阈值分析和区域生长相结合的用于植物根系CT序列图像分割的算法。首先通过直方图分析,初步确定根系区域的分割阈值,再利用经过改进的区域生长法分割得到目标区域。实验结果表明,该分割算法计算量小,分割精度高,在提取目标的同时,能够有效地分离介质(背景)像素;而且对于背景复杂、噪声较大、目标像素灰度不均匀的CT图像也能取得较好的分割效果。     

多架次作业植保无人机最小能耗航迹规划算法研究

利用栅格法对工作区域进行划分,快速得到往复遍历式植保无人机的作业路径,在以作业架次数最少为约束条件的情况下,研究了一种多架次返航路线规划算法,合理地分配了各架次的喷药量和返航点,使无人机的工作总能耗最小,降低了无人机在非作业情况下无效消耗能量,提高了作业效率。仿真结果表明,在同等作业条件下,在一块210 m×200 m的矩形作业区域,采用本算法进行航迹规划,相比于仅以药液耗尽为返航依据的航迹规划,能耗节省率达到了12.89%,而且作业面积越大,能量节省效果越明显,通过田间对比试验,进一步证明了算法的可行性。     

Mineral composition of tobacco leaf samples part I: As affected by soil fertility,variety, and leaf position

Abstract

Three tobacco varieties were grown under four soil fertility conditions. Leaf samples were taken at bloom stage from upper and lower positions and analyzed for eleven elements. Results show how leaf position and variety affect leaf mineral composition with variable soil conditions. Therefore, variety and leaf position should be clearly defined before leaf nutrient levels can have a suitable degree of diagnostic value. However, variety differences were of less importance because nutrient concentration differences were generally related to appropriate changes in yield measurements.     

Effect of Different Plant Growth Regulators on Callus Induction and in vitro Rapid Propagation of Wild Petunia Juss.

In this study,the seeds of wild Petunia Juss.were used as explants to investigate the optimal condition for tissue culture.Several different kinds and concentrations of growth regulators were adopted to produce more multiple bud clumps,callus or roots in this study.The experiments may provide experimental foundation for the rapid propagation technology and establishment of tissue culture system for wild Petunia Juss.     

植物组织培养中有机添加物应用研究

植物组织培养中,在培养基内加入有机添加物,对培养物的分化、增殖有明显促进作用。文章综述了有机添加物的作用及其目前在植物组织培养中的应用情况。     

OsGA20ox2不同长度RNAi片段对水稻株高等农艺性状的遗传效应

利用OsGA20ox2基因序列构建不同长度的RNAi片段并导入水稻，获得不同高度的矮化植株。将这些矮化植株与野生型植株回交获得B₁F₂群体，卡方检测表明B₁F₂群体矮秆植株数和高秆植株数符合3∶1比例，表现为矮秆显性的遗传规律。对矮化植株的F₅和B₁F₂群体株高、各茎节间长度和一些主要农艺性状方差分析显示, OsGA20ox2基因的RNAi能显著缩短株高和各节间长度(P<0.05)，RNAi干扰片段越长，使植株株高和节间长度缩短程度越大，可使株高降低24~42 cm，矮化22%~39%。在同一长度的RNAi干扰片段下，倒一节节间长度平均缩短与倒二节节间长度平均缩短非常相近，倒三节和倒四节节间长度平均缩短非常相近，总的缩短程度是倒四节>倒三节>倒二节>倒一节。这种近基部节间长度缩短幅度和比例较大的特点，利于提高水稻的抗倒伏能力，同时上部节间缩短幅度和比例较小，有效地保持合理株高，不使生物产量明显降低，有利于水稻的稳产和高产。OsGA20ox2基因的RNAi不影响如千粒重、结实率、穗长等其他主要农艺性状或影响很小。     

Plant monocultures produce more antagonistic soil Streptomyces communities than high-diversity plant communities

Plant–soil feedbacks are important to productivity and plant community dynamics in both natural and managed ecosystems. Among soil bacteria, the Streptomyces possess particularly strong antagonistic activities and inhibit diverse plant pathogens, offering a clear pathway to involvement in plant–soil feedbacks. We hypothesized that feedback effects and the ability of individual host plant species to foster antagonistic Streptomyces populations may be modified by the richness of the surrounding plant community. To test this, we collected soil associated with four different plant species (two C4 grasses: Andropogon gerardii, Schizachyrium scoparium; and two legumes: Lespedeza capitata, Lupinus perennis), grown in communities that spanned a gradient of plant species richness (1, 4, 8, 16, or 32 species). For each of these soils, we characterized the potential of soil Streptomyces to antagonize plant pathogens, using an in vitro plate assay with indicator strains to reveal inhibition. We cultivated each plant species in each conditioned soil to assess feedback effects on subsequent plant growth performance. Surrounding plant richness modified the impacts of particular plant species on Streptomyces antagonistic activity; A. gerardii supported a higher proportion of antagonistic Streptomyces when grown in monoculture than when grown in 32-spp plant communities, and L. capitata supported more strongly antagonistic Streptomyces when grown in 4- or 32-spp plant communities than in 8-spp plant communities. Similarly, the feedback effects of particular plant species sometimes varied with surrounding plant richness; aboveground biomass production varied with plant species richness for A. gerardii in L. perennis-trained soil, for L. capitata in A. gerardii-trained soil, and for L. perennis in L. capitata-trained soil. Streptomyces antagonist density increased with overall Streptomyces density under low but not under high plant richness, suggesting that plant diversity modifies selection for antagonistic phenotypes among soil Streptomyces. This work highlights the complexity of feedback dynamics among plant species, and of plant–microbiome interactions in soil.