Direct and Residual Contributions of Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation by Legumes to the Yield and Nitrogen Uptake of Maize (Zea mays L.) in the Nigerian Savannah

Field experiments were conducted to determine the direct and residual contributions of legumes to the yield and nitrogen (N) uptake of maize during the wet seasons of 1994 and 1995 at the University Farm, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria, located in the Northern Guinea savannah of Nigeria. Nodulating soybean, lablab, green gram and black gram contributed to the yield and N uptake of maize either intercropped with the legumes or grown after legumes as a sole crop. Direct transfer of N from the nodulating soybean, lablab, green gram and black gram to the intercropped maize was 24.9–28.1, 23.8–29.2, 19.7–22.1 and 18.4–18.6 kg N ha^–1, respectively. However, the transfer of residual N from these legumes to the succeeding maize crop was 18.4–20.0, 19.5–29.9, 12.0–13.7 and 9.3–10.3 kg N ha^–1, respectively. Four years of continuous lablab cropping resulted in yields and N uptake of the succeeding maize crop grown without fertilizer N that were comparable to the yields and N uptake of the succeeding maize crop supplied with 40–45 kg N ha^–1 and grown after 4 years of continuous sorghum cropping. It may therefore be concluded that nodulating soybean, lablab, green gram and black gram may be either intercropped or grown in rotation with cereals in order to economize the use of fertilizer N for maize production in the Nigerian savannah.     

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.     

Impact of pig slurry on soil properties, water salinization, nitrate leaching and crop yield in a four-year experiment in Central Spain

Abstract. The repeated application of pig slurry to agricultural soils may result in an accumulation of salts and a risk of aquifer pollution due to nitrate leaching and salinization. Under Mediterranean conditions, a field experiment on a sandy loam soil (Typic Xerofluvent) was performed with maize (Zea mays) in 1998, 1999 and 2001 to study the effects of applying optimal (P1) and excessive rates (P3) of pig slurry on soil salinization, nitrate leaching and groundwater pollution. The rate of pig slurry was established considering the optimal N rate for maize in this soil (170, 162 and 176 kg N ha^?1 for 1998, 1999 and 2001, respectively). Pig slurry treatments were compared to an optimal N rate supplied as urea (U) and a control treatment without N fertilizer (P0). The composition of the slurries showed great variability between years. Mean NO₃^? leaching losses from 1998 to 2001 were 329, 215, 173 and 78 kg N ha^?1 for P3, P1, U and P0 treatments, respectively. The amount of total dissolved salts (TDS) added to the soil in slurry application between 1998 and 2001 was 2019 kg TDS ha^?1 for the P1 treatment and 6058 kg TDS ha^?1 for the P3 treatment. As a consequence, the electrical conductivity (EC) of the slurry‐treated soils was greater than that of the control soil. The EC correlated significantly with the sodium concentration of the soil solution. Over the entire experimental period, 2653, 2202 and 2110 kg Na ha^?1 entered the aquifer from the P3, P1 and P0 treatments, respectively. The P3 treatment did not significantly increase grain production in 1999 and 2001 compared with that achieved with the optimal N rate treatment (P1). This behaviour shows the importance of establishing application guidelines for pig slurry that will reduce the risk of soil and groundwater pollution.     

The rates of maize growth and lignin biosynthesis change after root-applied chalcone

The effects of root-applied chalcone at 0.15 mmol L⁻¹ on the growth and lignin biosynthesis in maize were investigated. The contents of 4-coumarate: CoA ligase (4CL, EC 6.2.1.12) substrates in maize shoots were increased more rapidly in the samples with chalcone application than in the control and the increase occurred at ≤ 3 h after the application (HAA). The lignin content was reduced by chalcone at ≤ 6 HAA. The shoot growth was suppressed by chalcone at ≤ 9 HAA. Consequently, the results suggest that chalcone suppressed maize growth by inhibiting monolignol biosynthesis.     

Parasitoid community of the loreyi leaf wormMythimna (Acantholeucania) loreyi: Novel host-parasitoid associations and their efficiency in the eastern mediterranean region of Turkey

The loreyi leaf worm,Mythimna (Acantholeucania) loreyi Duponchel (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), is a pest of gramineous crops and causes significant economic damage to maize. In field surveys on maize to determine the parasitoid community and its impact on the pest in the eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey, nine parasitoid species were found associated with immature stages ofM. loreyi: The hymenopteran (Braconidae and Ichneumonidae) parasitoidsCotesia (=Apanteles) ruficrus (Haliday),Chelonus oculator Panzer,Meteorus ictericus Nees,Hyposoter didymator (Thunberg),Sinophorus sp.; and the dipteran (Tachinidae) parasitoidsPseudogonia rufifrons Wiedeman,Exorista rossica Mesnil,Gonia picea (Robineau-Desvoidy) andLinnaemya vulpina (Fallen) — the last three recorded for the first time as parasitoids ofM. loreyi in Turkey.C. ruficrus was the dominant parasitoid species, being recovered from 38.5% of the larvae collected and was also the most prevalent species, existing in 91.0% of the fields in whichM. loreyi was found. Total parasitism levels achieved by braconid species was 41.4%, by ichneumonid parasitoids 4.8%, and by tachinid parasitoids 1.9%. In a separate field experiment, seasonal population fluctuations and natural efficiency ofC. ruficrus onM. loreyi were found to be 35.1% and 42.4%, respectively. Population levels ofC. ruficrus were closely related to fluctuations in the population ofM. loreyi, with parasitism ranging between 0 and 77.3% during the study. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting Aug. 28, 2005.     

果梅幼树对春施~(15)N-硫铵的吸收与分配

以盆栽3年生细叶青梅/毛桃为试材,研究了早春施用~(15)N-(NH_4)_2SO_4条件下,果梅对~(15)N的吸收分配规律。结果表明:由于春季土温较低,限制了植株对肥料氮的利用率。在新梢旺长期,植株从肥料氮中吸收的氮素营养主要用于新生器官的建造,且新梢成为~(15)N的主要分配中心,其次即为果实,再其次为细根。至花芽分化期,植株的生长中心已发生转移和分散,但春施氮对促进当年生枝的花芽分化和维持叶片正常光合功能仍有重要作用,此期亦是根系生长的关键时期之一,且与贮氮相比,春施氮更有利于当年新根的萌发和根系的扩大。     

华北地区夏玉米田马唐治理的生态经济杀除阈期研究

作者于1992～1994年研究夏玉米田马唐(Digitaria sanguinalis L.)治理的生态经济阈期,借助计算机进行数学模拟,建立夏玉米的相对产量与马唐的相对干扰生长时间、相对出苗时间的函数关系。苗后马唐干扰生长的相对时间即相对天数(Xu)与夏玉米相对产量(Yu)的关系式为: Yu=101.5/{1.0 0.01756EXP[—(—0.0876Xu 0.0004888Xu~2)]}…………(1)苗后马唐出苗的相对时间与玉米相对产量的关系式为: Yd=100.73/{1.0 0.96EXP[—(0.06346Xd-0.00006859Xd~2)]}……………(2) 根据生态经济杀除阈期的定义和(1)、(2)两公式计算可知:夏玉米田马唐防除的生态经济杀除阈期的始期应从夏玉米苗后生育期总天数的11.8％开始,结束于夏玉米苗后生育期总天数的53.9％。例如华北地区夏玉米全生育期总天数一般是95天,夏玉米苗后生育期总天数(T)约为88天,故夏玉米田马唐防除的生态经济杀除阈期约在夏玉米苗后10.6—47.5天之间。     

国内一种玉米新病害--玉米黑腐病

1999年7月云南省元谋县城郊玉米地发现一种玉米新病害,发病面积大约70hm2.其典型症状表现为植株矮化,节间缩短,叶片密集簇生,叶片上有黄绿相间的条斑.叶鞘上有坏死或腐烂病斑,幼穗腐烂,不实,严重者绝产,颗粒无收.从坏死或腐烂的叶鞘和果穗上可镜检到分生孢子及分生孢子梗.纯化培养后,并按柯赫氏法则进行接种试验,病原鉴定为柔弱无枝孢Acladium tenellum(Berk.& Curt.)Subram.comb.nov..本文对病害症状、病原形态、发病情况等进行了详细研究,确定该病为玉米一种新病害.     

质膜内在蛋白ZmPIP1;1参与玉米耐旱性和光合作用的功能分析

质膜内在蛋白(plasma membrane intrinsic proteins, PIPs)是水通道蛋白主要亚家族成员之一,在植物生长发育过程中具有重要调节功能。前期研究表明,玉米ZmPIP1;1基因表达受到渗透和盐胁迫的强烈诱导,但其在玉米中的生物学功能尚不明确。本研究通过玉米遗传转化获得了ZmPIP1;1超表达转基因株系,干旱胁迫实验揭示了ZmPIP1;1超表达转基因株系较野生型具有较低的水分散失率及较强的干旱胁迫耐性。转录组测序结果表明参与ABA生物合成及其信号通路相关基因的表达水平发生了显著变化。在田间正常生长条件下,ZmPIP1;1超表达转基因植株与野生型在生长发育过程中没有明显差异,但转基因玉米株系具有较高的光合效率,粒宽和百粒重增加,玉米单果穗的产量提高。此外,通过荧光双分子互补实验观察到ZmPIP1;1和ZmPIP2;6蛋白在玉米叶肉细胞原生质体的细胞质膜和叶绿体膜上存在互作,并且可能导致了ZmPIP蛋白的重定位。该研究为ZmPIP1;1分子机制的解析奠定了重要基础,为玉米高光效分子设计育种开辟了新的途径。     

四甲基戊二酸对夏玉米光合生产特征的调控效应

为研究四甲基戊二酸(TGA)对夏玉米光合特征和产量的调控效应, 2018、2019年在中国农业科学院新乡试验基地开展大田试验,以中单909 (ZD909)和京农科728 (JNK728)为试验材料,设置5个TGA施用梯度(0、75、150、225和300 g hm^–2)。结果表明,适宜剂量的TGA处理可提高玉米产量、延缓玉米生育期内功能叶的衰老速率,增强灌浆期的净光合速率,试验条件下TGA的最佳施用量为150 g hm^–2。在TGA最佳施用量下, ZD909和JNK728的产量相比对照2年平均分别增加8.7%和11.7%。2个品种玉米生育期内叶绿素含量、可溶性蛋白含量和光合势相比对照平均分别增加14.3%和19.7%、18.7%和22.7%、10.9%和16.9%;而叶片衰老速率相比对照平均降低了55.9%和56.5%;灌浆期的净光合速率相比对照平均分别增加44.0%和58.4%。相关性分析表明,玉米产量与生育期内叶片衰老速率呈显著负相关,而与灌浆期净光合速率呈显著正相关。综上, TGA处理能够提高叶片叶绿素和可溶性蛋白含量,延缓玉米叶片衰老...