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.     

优化栽培模式对水稻根-冠生长特性、水氮利用效率和产量的影响

【目的】探明优化栽培模式对水稻根冠发育以及产量与肥水利用效率的影响。【方法】以甬优1540(三系籼/粳杂交稻)为材料,设置3个处理：0N(空白)栽培模式、当地农户习惯栽培模式(对照)以及优化栽培模式。【结果】优化栽培处理两年的平均产量为11.5 t/hm²,与对照差异不显著;但其氮肥偏生产力、产谷利用率以及水分利用率较对照显著提高。与对照相比,优化栽培处理改善了水稻根系形态与生理特征,降低了根系生物量与根-冠比,提高了深根比与比根长,增加了齐穗期与灌浆中期根系活跃吸收表面积,提高了灌浆中后期根系氧化力与根系伤流液中玉米素(Z)+玉米素核苷(ZR)的浓度。此外,与对照相比,优化栽培处理显著提高了灌浆中后期剑叶净光合速率、叶片中Z+ZR含量以及籽粒中蔗糖-淀粉代谢途径关键酶活性。【结论】优化与集成现有栽培技术,可以改善水稻根系形态与生理特征,提高地上部生理活性,进而实现肥水利用效率的提高。     

Progress since the 1930s in Breeding for Yield, its Components, and Quality Traits of Spring Wheat in Finland

The contribution of improvements in morphophysiological traits to increased gram yield in spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and the achievements of breeding for high bread-making quality in Finland since the 1930s were assessed. Ten wheat cultivars released in Finland between 1939 and 1990 were evaluated in Held experiments at the Viikki Experimental Farm, University of Helsinki, Finland (60°13′N) in 1991 and 1992. Twenty-two traits representing maturity, plant architecture, plant stand structure and N accumulation, and nine quality traits, including protein concentration and protein quality, were assessed. A 20 % increase in grain yield arising from cultivar improvement was associated with a 7 % reduction in height, an 80 % improvement in lodging resistance, and a 15 % higher harvest index (HI). Ear weight was 30 % higher in the modern cultivars. The higher ear weight of the modern cultivars was a result of more grains per ear and a higher spikelet weight. No decrease in vegetative phytomass in modern cultivars was recorded in this study. Grain yield and total N accumulation increased simultaneously and a positive correlation between year of cultivar release and nitrogen index was established. Although use of high N fertilizer application rates resulted in significantly improved baking quality of the flour, no trend between baking quality and year of cultivar release was recorded. The relatively low HI recorded in this study suggests that further yield increases art-likely to be achieved by selecting for higher HI.     

Screening of tomato genotypes for salinity tolerance based on early growth attributes and leaf inorganic osmolytes

The experiment containing three replicates of completely randomized factorial treatments was conducted in a glasshouse under controlled conditions with three simulated soil salinity levels (control, 10 and 15 dS m^?1). Morpho-physiological traits (i.e. lengths, fresh weights and dry weights of root and shoot, number of leaves, root/shoot ratio, shoot Na⁺ accumulation, K⁺/Na⁺ ratio, Ca²⁺/Na⁺ ratio, membrane stability index, lycopene contents, chlorophyll-a and -b) were recorded to determine mechanism of salt tolerance of tomato at seedling stage. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to express a three-way interaction of genotype × salinity level × traits that scattered the 25 tomato genotypes based on their morpho-physiological response to different NaCl levels. The negative association of Na⁺ with all other traits except root/shoot ratio and the morpho-physiological response trend of genotypes exposed that probable mechanism of salt tolerance was initially Na⁺ exclusion by abscising older leaves to have younger physiologically energetic, and lastly a higher activity of plants for root development to sustain them in saline soil. PCA three-way biplot efficiently recognized ANAHU, LA-2821, LO-2752, LO-2707, PB-017909, LO-2831-23 and 017860 as salt tolerant genotypes. On the other hand, ZARNITZA, GLACIER, LO-2692, LO-2576, BL-1079, 006233, 006232, 017856, NUTYT-701 and NAGINA were found to be salt susceptible.     

Breaking Uniculm Growth Habit of Spring Cereals at High Latitudes by Crop Management. II. Tillering, Grain yield and Yield Components

Long days at high latitudes inhibit tillering of cereals and hence seeding rates of 500–700 seeds m⁻² are commonly used for spring wheat, barley and oats in Finland. Costs could be reduced by using a lower seeding rate in combination with crop management to produce more head-bearing tillers m⁻². This study was designed to assess possibilities of breaking the uniculm growth habit of spring cereals by (1) lowering the seeding rate from 600 to 300 seeds m⁻² and (2) manipulating tiller growth with early mechanical treatments to the crop (rolling, cutting) or chemical applications (foliar urea, CCC and GA). A low seeding rate and early application of foliar CCC at high latitudes, under good moisture conditions prior to heading, promoted 20% more head-bearing tillers and 6% higher grain yield than standard management practices. However, cultivars differed in their response to CCC. The advantageous effects of CCC at a low seeding rate were attributed to increase, over the controls, in contribution of head-bearing tillers to grain yield in wheat (cultivar Heta ), but more grains per head in oats (cultivar Veli ). Varietal recommendations for use of low seeding rate in combination with early CCC spraying should be examined further.     

Genetic Analysis of Morpho-Physiological Traits in Chickpea

The present study was conducted to investigate the genetic inheritance of morpho-physiological leaf traits in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). The experimental material comprised six generations, viz., two inbred parents, ‘T88’ and ‘Bold Seeded’, having contrasting leaf traits, and their derived F₁, F₂ and backcross of F₁ to either parent (B₁ and B₂). The experiment was randomized complete block design with three replications. Genetic parameters were estimated by generation mean analysis using all the six generations. Data were collected on individual plants within each family just before flowering on leaflet area (LA), number of leaflets per leaf (LL), rachis length (RL), and leaflet density (LD), which was calculated as number of leaflets per unit length of rachis. A simple additive-dominance model was found to be adequate to describe the inheritance of LL and LA, while dominance × dominance (i.e. [1]) and additive × dominance (i.e. [i]) interactions were also significant for RL and LD, respectively. Improvement or seed yield per plant may result from selection for LA by improving both RL and LL. Leaflet area may be included in the ongoing selection schemes, as a supplementary trait to increase the speed of improvement in seed yield per plant. Lanceolate leaflet shape was observed to be monogenically dominant over obovate leaflet shape, and segregated independently from purple/white flower color.     

Ontogenetic-based sequential path analysis of grain yield and its related traits in several winter wheat cultivars

Studies that provide representative insights for determining yield through its related traits during the ontogeny of modern cultivars subjected to sources of environmental variation are limited for different crops, including wheat. Most of the empirical evidence on the relationships between the yield of small grain cereal crops and its contributing traits has been obtained under dry or semidry conditions. The aims of this paper were to (1) illustrate how an path analysis can be used to clarify and interpret the relationships between grain yield (GY), yield components, and other yield-related traits of 25 winter wheat cultivars subjected to sources of environmental variation and (2) determine how the yield-related traits contribute to the yield variation. The data used in this analysis were generated from multi-environment trials across wheat-growing areas in Poland. Using Ward’s clustering procedure was capable of identifying the most critical predictor traits of the yield components and their contributions to cultivar-focused GY variation. Our findings document, confirm, and improve the basic biological understanding of how to grow modern wheat cultivars for high GY through effectively stimulating the improvement of yield-related traits through the optimization of developmental stage-based agronomic strategies. Our results confirmed empirically that modern European wheat cultivars grown in a temperate climate require favorable conditions, the use of appropriate N fertilizer and growth regulators, and the application of fungicide to protect against leaf diseases and to provide conditions that effectively increase the time to anthesis, the Leaf Area Index per spike at anthesis, and the grain filling duration, and reduce plant height and flag leaf disease severity, thus leading to a high GY. A high yield level is obtained by the performance of preferred yield-related traits that can maintain the three yield components at relatively high levels.     

Genetic variation for tolerance to post-emergence herbicide,imazethapyr in lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.)

Weeds pose a serious constraint to lentil production. Identification and deployment of post-emergence herbicide tolerance in improved varieties can help reduce the production cost and increase the productivity and area under lentil cultivation. Imazethapyr, a post-emergence herbicide was tested on 180 lentil genotypes for two consecutive years. Significant variation among the genotypes was observed for tolerance to imazethapyr. On a 1–5 scale, 12 genotypes were found tolerant, 46 moderately tolerant, 112 sensitive and 10 highly sensitive during the first season, and 11 genotypes were found tolerant, 51 moderately tolerant, 110 sensitive and 8 highly sensitive during the second season. Based on the first year’s result, 30 genotypes, representing tolerant, moderately tolerant, sensitive and highly sensitive reactions, were evaluated to determine the effect of herbicide on morpho-physiological and yield traits. The adverse effect of imazethapyr was significant on growth and yield attributes of lentils. Five genotypes namely LL699, LL1397, IPL406, EC78452 and LL1203 demonstrated tolerance to imazethapyr with limited phytotoxic effect on various morpho-physiological traits. These genotypes showed less reduction (<19%) for seed yield in imazethapyr treated plots as compared to control. These genotypes offer scope for developing post-emergence herbicide tolerant cultivars in lentil.