The variation of phosphorous content,grain yield,and rhizosphere microbial biomass among durum wheat cultivars under salinity stress

ABSTRACT

The effectiveness of plant–soil synergies is largely modulated by interaction between cultivar and rhizosphere microbiome. We evaluated the agronomic performance of six durum wheat cultivars, in two semi-arid locations in Tunisia that differed in their irrigation water salinity: S1 (6 dS m^?1) and S2 (12 dS m^?1). The two-consecutive-year field experiments assessed the effects of the microbial biomass carbon (MBC), leaf phosphorus (LP) and rhizosphere phosphorus (P) on the grain yield (GY) and yield components at tillering and flowering stages. Overall, in saline conditions, cultivars differed in above- and below-ground traits, particularly, with tolerant cultivars presenting relatively greater MBC, P and LP. Furthermore, in S2, GY positively correlated with MBC (r = 0.69), LP (r = 0.80) and P (r = 0.79). Additionally, in S2, MBC positively correlated with P (r = 0.87) and LP (r = 0.85) at flowering. This result was further confirmed by multiple linear regression (step-wise) analysis, which revealed that MBC and LP were the determinant components of GY variability under S2. The present study demonstrates that LP and soil P are mandatory for improving the management of durum wheat. Salinity tolerance was largely affected by the cultivars’ rhizosphere MBC.     

On farm analysis of the effect of the preceding crop on N uptake and grain yield of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) in Mediterranean conditions

One of the challenges of eco-efficient agriculture is the development of operational farming practices to increase the level of agricultural production, maximize the efficiency of resource use and reduce environmental impacts. Based on the efficiency frontier concept and the decomposition of resource use efficiency, we used a three-quadrant framework allowing to carry a functional analysis of the cropping system. Using a data envelope approach, we established boundary curves which represent the maximum achievable performances (yield, N uptake) when N is the only limiting factor. This framework has been first implemented and tested using published data from 112 agronomic situations of rainfed durum wheat in experimental fields in northern Syria and then further applied on a data set of 245 agronomic situations of durum wheat in farmers’ fields in two grain-producing regions of Tunisia. The results demonstrated the impact of preceding crops: durum wheat following legumes or vegetable showed a higher potential for N uptake but with only a minor effect on its conversion into grains. This positive effect of diversified rotation on potential N uptake by durum wheat is partly of-set by increased N uptake gaps in farmer’s fields indicating a higher effect of other limiting factors.     

No-tillage and conventional tillage effects on durum wheat yield, grain quality and soil moisture content in southern Italy

No-tillage (NT) is becoming increasingly attractive to farmers because it clearly reduces production costs relative to conventional tillage (CT). However, many producers in southern Italy are reluctant to adopt this practice because NT can have contrasting consequences on grain yield depending on weather conditions. The effect of NT and CT on continuous durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) under rainfed Mediterranean conditions was studied, over a 3-year period (2000–2002) at two locations (Foggia and Vasto) in southern Italy. Yield, grain quality [thousand kernel weight (TKW), test weight (TW) and protein content (PC)] and soil water content were assessed.Higher yield was obtained with NT than CT in the first 2 years at Foggia. In contrast, mean yield and quality parameters at Vasto were similar for the two treatments, except in the third year in which CT produced more than NT (4.6 Mg ha⁻¹ versus 2.9 Mg ha⁻¹). At Foggia, TW and TKW were higher in NT than CT in all years. Highest PC was obtained under CT (19.6% and 15.5% for CT versus 14.7% and 11.4% for NT, respectively, in the growing season 2000–2001 and 2001–2002) indicating that grain was shriveled with low starch accumulation.At Foggia, where this study was part of a long-term experiment started in 1995, a strong correlation was observed between yield and rainfall during the wheat growing season. The coefficient of determination (R²) values for CT and NT were 0.69^* and 0.31 ns, respectively, and the regression straight line crossed around 300 mm of rainfall. These results indicate that NT was superior below this rainfall value, whereas more rainfall enhanced yield in CT. We conclude that NT performed better at Foggia with limited rainfall during the durum wheat growing season. The superior effect of NT in comparison to CT, was due to lower water evaporation from soil combined with enhanced soil water availability.     

Impact of Biofertilizers on grain yield in spring wheat under varying fertility conditions and wheat-cotton rotation

High nitrogen fixing and phytohormone producing diazotrophs such as Azotobacter were isolated, identified and used as bioinoculants on wheat and cotton with varying doses of nitrogen under field conditions. The impact of bio-inoculants was determined on the basis of their effect on yield, dry weight and survival rate of bacteria at different days of plant growth under field conditions in two consecutive seasons (2000–01 and 2001–02). Pronounced effects were seen by the use of bio-inoculants in wheat crop. The effects were more visible in the second year as the level of bio-inoculants was maintained in the soil. A net saving of 25–30?kg nitrogen was observed using chosen bio-inoculants for wheat crop.     

Type and placement of zinc fertilizer impacts cadmium content of harvested durum wheat grain

Due to potential international marketing concerns, North Dakota durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. Desf.) producers require strategies that limit cadmium (Cd) in harvested grain. These trials were conducted in order to determine the impact of type and placement of zinc (Zn) fertilizer on harvested grain seed Cd levels and to determine the best timing of foliar Zn-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Foliar Zn-EDTA applied at Feekes 10 growth stage had the lowest grain Cd of 0.97 mg kg^?1 when evaluating different fertilizer sources and application timings. Application of 22.4 kg ha^?1 potassium chloride with the seed at planting resulted in the highest grain Cd of 0.151 mg kg^?1 and might be a concern when environmental conditions are conducive for Cd uptake from soil. Stepwise linear regression determined that soil pH and chloride explained 96% of the variability of grain Cd. Applying 1.1 kg Zn ha^?1 as foliar Zn-EDTA in combination with 33 kg nitrogen ha^?1 at Feekes 10.54 growth stage resulted in significantly lower grain Cd, and significantly higher grain Zn, iron, and protein content. Treatments that significantly lowered grain Cd did not decrease grain yield, test weight, or protein content. The treatments that most reduced grain Cd resulted in the most benefits from a production, marketing, and nutritional standpoint and represents an agronomic approach to biofortification of durum wheat.     

Geographic variation for spike and grain characteristics in durum wheat germplasm adapted to dryland conditions

Summary A set of 109 durum wheat accessions, selected from a world collection for their adaptation to dry environments, were further evaluated under moisture-limiting conditions. The entries were subdivided into 9 gene pools based on their country of origin. Data are presented to assess the phenotypic variation and distinctiveness of these pools for some spike and grain features. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences among materials of diverse origin for all traits except protein content. Within-country variation was generally wide as regards spike length and 1000-kernel weight. The Ethiopian germplasm presented a remarkable variability and distinctiveness. Entries with interesting values for breeding purposes were detected in most country gene pools. In general, selection of germplasm adapted to harsh environments did not result in a loss of variability for the considered traits, with the possible exception of protein content. Ethiopian entries presented the highest number of significant pairwise character correlations. The two most important traits in a discriminant analysis by country of origin were spike density and 1000-kernel weight. Diversity among gene pools was further assessed by a canonical analysis. The first three canonical variables explained 90% of the total variance. The gene pools of Ethiopia, Greece, Egypt and Jordan appeared clearly distinct from the other germplasm subsets studied. Geographically distinct patterns emerging from this study could be the result of the combined effect of natural and human selection.     

Phenotypic diversity analysis of grain yield and yellow pigment content in germplasm collected from Iranian durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L.) landraces

This study was undertaken to compare patterns of agronomic characters and yellow pigment content diversity between Iranian durum landraces and modern varieties. In four field experiments, a collection of 127 accessions of landraces and 23 modern cultivars tetraploid wheat representing Iranian and global genetic diversity were tested under optimum and rain-fed conditions. Across the environments, the yellow pigment concentrations ranged from 1.85 mg kg^?1 to 8.95 mg kg^?1 in the field-grown samples. Multivariate analysis detected five groups, four including landraces and one comprising modern cultivars. As a group, modern cultivars were the most productive and showed high mean values for harvest index, grains per spike and yellow pigment, but they had the lowest plant height. Landraces had the highest mean number of spikes per m² and 1000-kernel weight, but were characterized by low plant height and yellow pigment content. Clustering analysis also showed that, based on yield and yellow pigment content, the accessions in different groups were of different origins, suggesting that there was no clear relationship between accessions and geographical diversity. According to our results, Iranian landraces can be particularly useful as germplasm in breeding programmes to improve spikes per m² and 1000-kernel weights.     

Environmentally induced changes in amino acid composition in the grain of durum wheat grown under different water and temperature regimes in a Mediterranean environment

Amino acid composition is an important feature in determining the nutritional value of wheat grain for human and animal diets. Environmental conditions are known to influence protein quantity as well as grain production and, in turn, amino acid composition. In this study, grain yield, protein content, and amino acid composition were determined in 10 durum wheat genotypes under three water and temperature regimes in a Mediterranean environment. The highest value for grain-protein content (15.7%) was found in the warmer and driest environment and the lowest (12.8%) in the irrigated environment. Although amino acid composition showed significant variation for all genotypes, with the exception of arginine and cysteine, major changes in amino acid composition were caused by environmental conditions and in particular by water availability and temperature during the grain-filling period, which significantly altered the duration of grain development. The amino acids with the highest percentage of variation between environments were tyrosine (26.4%), lysine (23.7%), methionine (20.3%), threonine (19.3%), and valine (15.6%), whereas phenylalanine (5.1%), glycine (6.4%), and aspartic acid (6.8%) showed the least variation between environments. Whereas the content of glutamine, phenylalanine, and proline increased with the decrease in grain-filling duration, the remaining amino acids tended to diminish, presumably because high temperature and drought favored the deposition of gliadins (proteins particularly rich in glutamine and proline), to the detriment of albumins and globulins (proteins especially rich in threonine, lysine, methionine, valine, and histidine). Despite the negative correlations found between the percentage of protein and its content in essential amino acids, the results indicate that reductions in lysine per unit of food were not very pronounced (0.32 to 0.29 g/100 g of flour) with increases of up 22.7% in grain-protein content, whereas threonine did not change and valine even slightly increased.     

Relationship between wheat grain protein yield and grain yield,plant growth,and nutrition at anthesis

Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) var. Astral was grown in 1983–1984 in 12 experimental fields located in the Middle of the Duero Basin (Spain). The fields were fertilized at several rates of N, P, and K. Grain protein yield increased linearly with grain yield and with above‐ground plant dry weight at anthesis. Above ground dry weight of the crop accounted for 91.1% of the variance in grain protein yield among the different fields. The grain protein yield also increased linearly with leaf nitrogen level at anthesis. However, within each field, grain protein yield was generally more closely related with above‐ground dry weight at anthesis multiplied by the level of nitrogen in the two uppermost leaves (X3), than with any of these factors considered separately. The regressions over X3 were positive and varied among some of the fields. The intercept increased with grain yields and the slope with the concentration of magnesium. In addition, the ratio between grain protein yield and X3 increased with the leaf magnesium level. This suggests that grain might favour the assimilation of exogenous nitrogen during its development and/or the translocation of nitrogen from the vegetative parts of the plant to the grain. Moreover, magnesium might increase the efficiency of protein accumulation in grain. Among fields, the relationship of grain protein yield with leaf magnesium level depended on the level of nitrogen.     

Spectrophotometric determination of yellow pigment content and evaluation of carotenoids by high-performance liquid chromatography in durum wheat grain

The so-called "yellow pigment" content of durum wheat has been used for a long time as an indicator of the color quality of durum wheat and pasta products. For decades the chemical nature of these pigments has been assigned to carotenoids, mainly to the xanthophyll lutein and its fatty acid esters. The chemical composition of the yellow pigments of eight German durum wheat cultivars was studied. Grains were milled on a laboratory mill. Pigment extraction of millstream fractions was performed according to the optimized ICC standard method 152 procedure, and the chemical composition of the extract was analyzed by isocratic reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography. all-trans-Lutein ranged from 1.5 to 4 mg kg(-1), and zeaxanthin was found in traces. No lutein esters and carotenes were detected. Surprisingly, the fraction of carotenoids of the complete yellow pigment content amounted to only 30-50% of the yellow pigment quantities, so there are still compounds in durum wheat not yet identified that contribute considerably to the yellow color of the grain extracts. The isolation and chemical identification of those pigments are under investigation.     

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.     

不同灌水条件下施硫对冬小麦碳、氮、硫物质积累及产量的影响

2009～2010年在河南农业大学科教示范园区,以2个中筋小麦品种多穗型豫农949和大穗型兰考矮早8为供试材料,设置不同灌水次数和施硫试验,研究不同灌水条件下施硫对冬小麦碳、氮、硫物质积累及产量的影响。结果表明,随灌水次数的增加,两品种小麦干物质积累量逐渐升高,且在开花期和成熟期干物质积累量表现为S60显著高于S0;施硫结合灌水1～2次可提高小麦干物质在各器官的积累量,以子粒干物质积累量最多,茎+叶、穗轴+颖壳次之,而各器官分配无显著差异;补施硫肥提高了子粒中氮和硫的含量,但随灌水次数的增加子粒和营养器官中氮含量呈下降趋势,以W0处理含量最高。随着灌水次数的增加,两品种穗粒数、千粒重和产量呈升高趋势,且以S60W2处理达到最大值,较S0W0处理增幅达34.29%,品种间达显著差异,豫农949表现优于兰考矮早8。综上所述,本试验条件下,施用硫肥60 kg/hm2结合灌水1～2次有利于冬小麦干物质和碳氮硫积累分配及产量的提高,品种间对硫的响应有差异。     

Evaluation of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes for yield and related traits under drought stress conditions

ABSTRACT

Drought is a major factor threatening crop production worldwide. Developing wheat varieties that are adapted to drought prone environments is a sustainable strategy to improve wheat production and productivity. The aim of this study was to evaluate and select bread wheat genotypes for yield and yield components, and for stability under drought stress and non-stress conditions. One hundred and twenty genotypes were evaluated at five test sites in the 2018/19 cropping season using a 10 x 12 alpha lattice design with two replicates. The level of drought stress was imposed using different sowing dates (early planting representing non-stressed, while late planting as drought stressed conditions) following the onset of the main rain at each site. Grain yield and yield components were recorded, and drought indices were calculated for each genotype. Among the drought tolerance indices, GMP, MP, HM, STI and YI were found to be the most suitable for predicting drought tolerance because they had significant and positive correlations with yield under drought stress and non-stress conditions. Rank sum analysis identified the most drought tolerant genotypes as ‘YS-34', ‘YS-85' and ‘YS-82’. The selected wheat genotypes are useful genetic resources for future drought tolerance breeding programmes in Ethiopia or similar agro-ecologies.     

Alkylresorcinol content and homologue composition in durum wheat (Triticum durum) kernels and pasta products

The total alkylresorcinol (AR) content and relative homologue composition of 21 durum wheat (Triticum durum) kernel samples, as well as 5 pasta products and the corresponding flour mixtures, were determined. Durum wheat contained on average 455 microg/g ARs, and the average relative homologue composition was C17:0 (0.4%), C19:0 (14%), C21:0 (58%), C23:0 (21%), and C25:0 (6.5%). The homologue composition was found to be relatively consistent among samples, with durum wheat being different from common wheat by having a higher proportion of the longer homologues. No differences in content or homologue composition were observed in pasta products compared to flour ingredients, showing that alkylresorcinols are stable during pasta processing. The ratio of the homologues C17:0 to C21:0 was < or =0.02 for whole grain durum wheat products, which is different from those of common wheat (0.1) and rye (0.9).     

Variation of morphological and agronomical traits, andprotein composition in durum wheat germplasm from easternEurope

Broadening the genetic base upon which the breeding of durumwheat relies is a growing concern in Italy. Exotic materials canrepresent valuable sources of adaptive features and they have beenrepeatedly exploited in the past for direct utilisation and/orintrogression by crossing into existing germplasm. An increase of theavailable genetic variation for the breeding also appearsenvisageable in terms of end-product quality. This studyassessed the variation in germplasm from eastern Europe countries,which could represent novel gene sources for durum wheat improvementin Italy, and verified the presence of variants of potential interestfor agronomical and quality characteristics to be possibly exploitedfor breeding. Fifty-nine landraces from the former USSR and 91from Bulgaria were grown in Sicily and evaluated for agronomicaltraits, spike morphological characteristics (possibly bearingsome taxonomic relevance), and protein composition at three lociencoding for glutenin subunits responsible of flour quality features.The results suggested a similar overall diversity in the two groupsconsidering either the variance of the agronomical characters, or thediversity index (H) across morphological traits, orthe frequency distribution of electrophoretic patterns of gluteninsubunits encoded at three loci. Genotypes of potential usefulness asdonors of positive agronomical or quality attributes were found inboth germplasm groups, although the agronomical characteristics ofthe exotic genotypes rarely matched those required by the breeding inthe target area. Conversely, the genetic variation found at the threeloci involved in the composition of glutenin subunits appeared ofgreater relevance for the breeding in Italy.     

Wheat growth and yield responses to biochar addition under Mediterranean climate conditions

The effects of the addition of a slow pyrolysis biochar (produced from olive-tree prunings) to a vertisol were studied in a field experiment during one wheat (Triticum durum L.) growing season. The biochar addition did not significantly affect soil parameters such as pH, dissolved organic C and N, ammonium, nitrate or microbial biomass N. By contrast, biochar addition decreased soil compaction and increased the soil water-retention capacity and nutrient content (total N and the available contents of P, K, Mg, Cu and Zn). These favourable changes led to an increase in fine root proliferation (increasing specific root length and reducing root tissue density) and promoted crop development. As a result, the plants in biochar-treated plots showed higher relative growth and net assimilation rates, aboveground biomass and yield than those in control plots. Neither grain quality nor nutrient content were significantly affected by biochar addition. Our results suggest that the use of biochar as a soil amendment in agricultural soils can improve soil physical properties and increase fertility, favouring crop development under semiarid Mediterranean conditions.     

不同水分条件下分层施磷对冬小麦根系分布及产量的影响

研究不同水分条件下分层施磷对冬小麦根长分布、水分利用效率(water use efficiency,WUE)及产量的影响,旨在找出旱地农业最佳水肥处理方式。试验设不施磷(CK)、表施磷(surface P,SP)、深施磷(deep P,DP)和侧深施磷(deep-band P,DBP)4种处理,每个施磷水平下设补充灌溉(W1)和干旱(整个生育期无补充灌溉)(W2)2种水分处理。结果表明,施磷位置及补充灌溉显著(P0.05)影响冬小麦孕穗期根长分布、WUE及产量,同时会改变根系空间分布。干旱胁迫使冬小麦0~30 cm土层根长密度下降,降低17.5%,却促进了30 cm以下土层根长发育,增加13.3%,促进对土壤水分和磷素的吸收,从而提高产量。无论灌溉与否,施磷处理0~30 cm土层根长密度、吸磷量、WUE及产量均显著高于CK(P0.05)。施磷位置对冬小麦WUE和产量的影响随土壤水分而异,无补充灌溉时,与磷肥表施相比,磷肥深施显著增加WUE和产量(P0.05),分别平均增加28.5%和16.0%,且深层根长(30~100 cm)与吸磷量、WUE和产量的变化趋势一致;而在补充灌溉时,与磷肥表施相比,磷肥深施却显著降低WUE(P0.05),平均降低13.3%,且深层根长与WUE、产量的关系缺乏规律性。该试验结果表明,土壤水分供应不足时,磷肥深施有利于促进冬小麦深层土壤根系生长发育,提高对土壤水分吸收利用能力,从而利于形成高产。该研究可为理解作物生长及产量对水分养分空间耦合的响应提供理论依据。     

施氮量和底追比例对小麦氮素吸收利用及子粒产量和蛋白质含量的影响

在大田栽培条件下,运用15N示踪技术研究了不同施氮量和底追肥比例对小麦氮素利用和子粒产量及蛋白质含量的影响。结果表明,施用氮肥提高了小麦植株的氮素积累量、子粒产量、蛋白质含量和蛋白质产量。相同施氮量条件下增加追肥氮的比例,提高了氮肥农学利用率和吸收利用率,增加了植株地上部器官(子粒+营养器官)中追肥氮、土壤氮的积累量,提高了营养器官中氮素的转运量和开花后氮素的同化量,增加了子粒蛋白质含量。相同的氮素底追肥比例条件下,将240.kg/hm2施氮量降至168.kg/hm2的处理,氮肥农学利用率、氮肥吸收利用率、氮肥偏生产力提高,子粒中土壤氮的积累量增加,植株地上部器官中土壤氮的积累量亦增加,开花后氮素同化量提高,子粒蛋白质含量增加。各施氮处理间子粒产量无显著差异。在本试验条件下,施氮量为168.kg/hm2且全部于拔节期追施是兼顾产量、品质和效益的优化处理。