Genetic variation of germination cold tolerance in Japanese rice germplasm

Low temperatures at the initial stages of rice development prevent fast germination and seedling establishment and may cause significant productivity losses. In order to develop rice cultivars exhibiting cold tolerance, it is necessary to investigate genetic resources, providing basic knowledge to allow the introduction of genes involved in low temperature germination ability from accessions into elite cultivars. Japanese rice accessions were evaluated at the germination under two conditions: 13°C for 28 days (cold stress) and 28°C for seven days (optimal temperature). The traits studied were coleoptile and radicle length under optimal temperature, coleoptile and radicle length under cold and percentage of the reduction in coleptile and radicle length due to low temperature. Among the accessions studied, genetic variation for traits related to germination under low temperatures was observed and accessions exhibiting adequate performance for all investigated traits were identified. The use of multivariate analysis allowed the identification of the genotypes displaying cold tolerance by smaller reductions in coleoptile and radicle lenght in the presence of cold and high vigour, by higher coleoptile and radicle growth under cold.     

鳢肠水提液对棉花和棉田常见杂草的化感作用

采用培养皿滤纸法研究鳢肠水提液对棉花和棉田常见杂草种子萌发和幼苗生长的化感作用。结果表明:当鳢肠水提液质量浓度为0.01~0.08 g·m L-1时,对中棉所49和中棉所79种子萌发影响不大,而对杂草种子的萌发表现为抑制作用;其中,对禾本科杂草种子萌发的抑制强度表现为牛筋草马唐稗草,对阔叶杂草种子萌发的抑制强度表现为反枝苋马齿苋苘麻。鳢肠水提液对棉花和杂草幼苗生长的影响表现为,低浓度促进,高浓度抑制,并随着质量浓度增加抑制作用提高,其中0.04~0.08 g·m L-1的鳢肠水提液对反枝苋胚根和胚芽长的抑制率均达到100%。     

Herbicidal Potential and Quantification of Suspected Allelochemicals from Four Grass Crop Extracts

Unknown compounds in crop plants are inhibitory to seed germination and early seedling growth of weed plants. A Petri dish assay showed that barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), oats (Avena sativa L.), rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) extracts significantly reduced root growth of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), barnyard grass (Echinochloa crus‐galli, Beauv. var. oryzicola Ohwi.) and eclipta (Eclipta prostrata L.). As the concentration of crop extracts increased, root growth of the test plants were significantly reduced. A high‐performance liquid chromatography analysis with nine standard phenolic compounds showed that the concentrations and compositions of allelopathic compounds depend on the extracted plant extracts. Caffeic acid, hydro‐cinnamic acid, ferulic acid, m‐coumaric acid, p‐coumaric acid and coumarin were present in all the crop plant species, and hydro‐cinnamic acid were detected as the highest amount. Coumarin at 10^?3 m significantly inhibited root growth of alfalfa and barnyard grass more than that of eclipta. The research suggests that extracts of barley, oats, rice and wheat have an allelopathic effect on alfalfa, barnyard grass and eclipta and that the findings of bioassay were considerably correlated with the type and amount of causative allelochemicals, indicating that the allelopathic effects on three test plants were ranked in order of wheat (highest), barley, rice and oats (lowest). The results may have value in enabling weed control based on natural plant extracts or crop residues in the fields.     

Relationships between cold- and salt-tolerance during seed germination in tomato: Germplasm evaluation

Thirty tomato accessions representing six Lycopersicon species were evaluated for the rate of seed germination under no stress, cold-stress and salt-stress conditions. Most accessions responded similarly to both cold- and salt-stress conditions (i.e. they were equally sensitive or tolerant to both stresses), however, a few accessions exhibited more sensitivity (or tolerance) to one stress than the other. In addition, some accessions that germinated relatively rapidly under non-stress conditions exhibited great sensitivity to both cold stress and salt stress. Across accessions, significant (P < 0.01) positive phenotypic correlations were observed between germination rate under control and cold stress (r_P= 0.89), control and salt stress (r_P= 0.63) and cold stress and salt stress (r_P= 0.77). The results indicate that the rate of tomato seed germination under non-stress, cold- and salt-stress conditions may be controlled by the same genes (or physiological mechanisms), but additional components may be involved which affect germination rate under specific stress conditions.     

Allelopathic Potential of Parthenium hysterophorus L.

Allelopathic influences of aqueous extracts of congress grass ( Parthenium hysterophorus L.) were investigated on germination and seedling vigour of cereals (rice and wheat) and pulses (black gram and chick pea).
The observations on germinations of crop seeds were recorded daily while linear growth of plumules and radicles were measured 2, 4 and 6 days after initiation of study. Aqueous extract of this weed exhibited allelopathic effects on germination and seedling vigour of both cereals and pulses. With increase in concentrations of aqueous extract there was decline in percentage of germination in both cereals and pulses but germination of pulses were more adversely affected than cereals.
It was also observed that aerial portion of plant part was found to be more potent than sub-aerial portion in reducing germination and length of roots and shoots of both cereals and pulses under test. The aqueous extract of 10 % concentration obtained from aerial/sub-aerial portion of plant brought about maximum reduction in length of roots and shoots.     

Varietal Differences in Allelopathic Potential of Alfalfa

Alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L.) plants were found to contain water-soluble substances that inhibited the germination and seedling growth of alfalfa ( Chung and Miller 1990, Agron. J. 87, 762—767 ). Tsuzuki et al. (1999, Rep. Kyushu Branch Crop Sci. Soc. Japan 65, 39—40 ) discovered allelochemicals in alfalfa plants that could have adverse effects on the growth of some lowland weeds. This study was conducted to investigate varietal differences in allelopathic potential in alfalfa plants. Eight common varieties of Japanese alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L.), namely Batasu, Hisawakaba, Kitawakaba, Makiwakaba, Natsuwakaba, Lucerne, Tachiwakaba and Yuba, were grown by conventional methods in the Experimental Field of the Crop Science Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Miyazaki University. Aqueous extracts of both fresh and dried material of alfalfa plants of all varieties significantly inhibited both germination and growth of lettuce ( Lactuca sativa L.). Leachates from germinating seeds of almost all alfalfa varieties inhibited elongation of the radicle but produced a negligible increase in germination and only slightly inhibited elongation of the hypocotyl of lettuce plants. Results demonstrated that the degree of inhibition of germination and growth of lettuce varied with the variety of alfalfa. In particular, Lucerne was identified as having the strongest allelopathic potential of the varieties studied. The results suggested that the allelopathic potential of alfalfa might be relating to a gene.     

复合盐碱胁迫对韭菜种子萌发的影响

为了探讨复合盐碱对韭菜种子萌发的影响和韭菜栽培的盐碱适应能力,本试验采用不同浓度的氯化钠、硫酸钠、碳酸氢钠、碳酸钠混合液对韭菜种子萌发进行试验,来测定25种复合盐碱胁迫条件下韭菜种子的萌发率、萌发指数、胚轴长度和恢复萌发率等生长指标。结果表明：随着盐碱胁迫的增强,韭菜种子的萌发率、萌发指数均明显低于对照,但同一pH、不同盐浓度下种子萌发率的下降幅度要大于同一盐浓度、不同pH下的处理;将未萌发的种子转移至蒸馏水中复水后,高盐浓度和高pH最终萌发率只有最高萌发率的24.7%,延缓了种子的萌发,也抑制了一些低活力种子的萌发,萌发恢复率随着盐浓度的增加而增加;盐浓度、pH及其相互作用对韭菜种子萌发有抑制作用,其中盐浓度是决定性的主导因素。     

The Exploitation of Crop Allelopathy in Sustainable Agricultural Production

Crop allelopathy may be useful to minimize serious problems in the present agricultural production such as environmental pollution, unsafe products, human health concerns, depletion of crop diversity, soil sickness and reduction of crop productivity. Several crops including alfalfa, buckwheat, maize, rice, rye, sorghum, sunflower, wheat, etc. are affected either by their own toxicity or phytotoxin exudates when their residues decompose in the soil, that show strong suppression on weed emergences. Allelopathic crops when used as cover crop, mulch, smother crops, green manures, or grown in rotational sequences are helpful in reducing noxious weeds and plant pathogen, improve soil quality and crop yield. Those crop plants, particularly the legumes, incorporated at 1–2 tons ha⁻¹ (alfalfa, buckwheat, rice by-products), which can give weed reduction and increase of rice yield by 70 and 20 %, respectively, are suggested for use as natural herbicides. Allelochemicals from allelopathic crops may aid in the development of biological herbicides and pesticides. Cultivating a system with allelopathic crops plays an important role in the establishment of sustainable agriculture. The introduction of allelopathic traits from accessions with strong allelopathic potential to the target crops will enhance the efficacy of crop allelopathy in future agricultural production.     

Identification of molecular markers linked to salt‐tolerant genes at germination stage of rice

An F_2 : 4 population derived from the cross between salt‐tolerant variety ‘Gharib’ (indica) and salt‐sensitive variety Sepidroud (indica) was used to determine the germination traits. The seeds were treated with 80 mm NaCl (salt stress), and 11 traits were determined as indicators for salt‐tolerant including germination rate, germination percentage, radicle length, plumule length, coleoptile length, plumule fresh and dry weight, radicle fresh and dry weight and coleoptile fresh and dry weight. A linkage map of 2475.7 cM with an average interval of 10.48 cM was constructed using 105 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers and 131 SSR markers. As many as that 17 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected related to germination traits under salt stress condition; some of them are being reported for first time. Also, overlapping of QTLs related to salt tolerance was observed in this study. The identification of genomic regions associated with salt‐tolerant and its components under salt stress will be useful for marker‐based approaches to improve salt‐tolerant for farmers in salt‐prone rice environments.     

SHORT COMMUNICATION: Effect of Salt Stress on Peruvian Germplasm of Chenopodium quinoa Willd.: A Promising Crop

Soil salinity is a major problem in today’s agriculture. Quinoa has become an important crop because it exhibits high levels of salinity tolerance. In addition, its seeds contain an excellent balance of carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids and proteins for human nutrition. The quinoa germplasm includes almost 2500 accessions, some of which have been tested under salt stress. Here, we report the effect of NaCl on the germination of 182 previously untested accessions. When seeds were irrigated with saline water at 30 dS m^?1 EC, the stress appeared to be too high: all accessions showed less than 60 % germination. In contrast, irrigation with 25 dS m^?1 EC saline water allowed over 60 % germination in 15 accessions. These latter accessions’ agricultural traits were then evaluated. The overall coefficients of variation indicated that quinoa genotype and salt treatment dramatically influence root dry mass per plant, but do not noticeably affect the length of the plant’s life cycle. Unexpectedly, salt treatment resulted in increased plant height, leaf dry mass and grain yield. Using Euclidean distance for the simultaneous selection of these five agricultural traits, accessions 100, 136, 127 and 105 proved to be the best performing genotypes under salt stress.     

盐胁迫对盐地碱蓬种子萌发及幼苗生长的影响

用不同浓度（0、0.2、0.4、0.6、1.2、1.8、2.8、3.6g/100ml）的盐溶液（土壤溶液、Na2SO4及NaCl）处理盐地碱蓬种子,以研究其在盐胁迫下的萌发及萌发后的生长情况,并观察胁迫解除后种子的反应,为其栽培利用提供理论依据。实验结果表明,盐地碱蓬种子的萌发对盐渍生境的适应性很强,能耐受较高的盐胁迫。对其种子萌发的胁迫作用是NaCl>土壤溶液>Na2SO4。随着盐浓度的升高,种子的萌发率呈现不同程度的降低。盐胁迫解除后,盐地碱蓬种子仍具有较高的萌发力,发芽速度和整齐度提高。幼根和幼芽对不同种类盐胁迫表现出不同的反应,盐浓度对根的影响较大。经盐锻炼之后,盐地碱蓬幼苗恢复生长的能力提高。     

绿豆品种资源萌发期耐碱性鉴定

采用人工气候箱内培养皿培养,以混合碱Na HCO3∶Na2CO3(摩尔比)为9∶1模拟典型东北地区碱胁迫环境,在萌发期以50 mmol L–1溶液处理34份绿豆品种资源,蒸馏水处理为对照,每培养皿放30粒种子。培养第3天测定发芽势,第7天测定发芽率、下胚轴长、胚根长、下胚轴干重、胚根干重等指标,通过隶属函数法和聚类分析对参试材料耐碱性综合评价,并进行因子分析。利用隶属函数法对参试材料耐碱性排序表明,不同绿豆品种资源间表现出较大差异,聚类分析把参试材料按耐碱性强弱分为4大类,白绿11等9份材料为耐碱类型,公绿1号等19份材料为耐碱中间类型,吉绿3号等5份材料为碱敏感类型,潍绿7号为碱极敏感类型。因子分析结果表明,萌发指数、下胚轴干重、胚根长分别在萌发因子、生物量累积因子和伸长因子中的负荷量最大,可作为绿豆萌发期耐碱性鉴定的适宜指标。     

不同浓度盐胁迫对转基因饲用甜菜种子萌发及幼苗生长的影响

通过不同浓度NaCl溶液处理转基因饲用甜菜种子及其幼苗试验，研究了盐胁迫下种子萌发、幼苗生长及胁迫解除后种子的效应，为盐土农业生产提供理论依据。结果表明，转基因饲用甜菜种子萌发的适宜Nacl浓度为50。150mmol/L，其中100mmoL／LNaCl胁迫下，种子发芽率最高，与对照相比高6．78％。随着盐胁迫浓度的升高，种子萌发延迟，萌发率也呈不同程度的降低。盐胁迫解除后，种子萌芽迅速，萌芽率提高，整齐度增加。转基因饲用甜菜幼苗在不同NaCl浓度胁迫下表现出的反应不同，高盐胁迫对抑制幼根生长影响较大。     

Potential use of doubled haploid lines for the screening of resistance to yellow rust (Puccinia striiformis) in hexaploid wheat

Doubled haploid lines derived from anther culture of two Iranian spring wheat genotypes‘Ghods’susceptible and‘9106’resistant to yellow rust in Iranian field conditions, and their F₁ hybrids were used in this study. Seedlings of 36 doubled haploid lines, selected out of 96 according to their agronomic traits and the two parental genotypes were inoculated with eight races of yellow rust. The parental genotypes (‘Ghods’and‘9106’) were segregating for some of the races but their doubled haploid lines were either resistant or susceptible to them.‘Ghods’was susceptible to three of the races studied but three doubled haploid lines derived from it were resistant to them. Five selected doubled haploids from the‘9106’genotype and six from F₁ hybrid plants were resistant to all eight races tested. After further investigations in Iranian field conditions it was found that some of these lines can be used as donor genotypes for resistance to yellow rust in wheat breeding programmes. Use of these genotypes should be possible if the French yellow rust races used for selection also represent the dominant races in Iran. It can be concluded that anther culture provides an efficient method for fixing genes of resistance to yellow rust and desirable doubled haploids from F₁ plants can be derived.     

Germination of Brassica pollen and expression of incompatibility in vitro

Summary Pollen derived from cabbage, broccoli, and collards (Brassica oleracea, var. capitata, Italica and acephala, respectively) will germinate in a synthetic medium consisting of sucrose, H₃BO₄, CaCl₂ and purified polyethylene glycol 20,000. The optimum levels of constituents varied from genotype to genotype. With one genotype of cabbage, a germination percentage of 84% and tube lengths of at least 3.5 mm long were obtained. Whereas pollen from broccoli germinated in 1 to 2 hours, cabbage pollen required a 3 to 4 hour incubation period. Optimum germination occurred at pH 5.8 and at a pollen density of 0.5–2.0 mg/ml for cabbage. The effect of flower age on pollen germination varied from genotype to genotype. Of 7 cabbage genotypes tested, pollen germination either increased, decreased or remained the same as flower age increased. Pollen germination in vitro required polyethylene glycol purified by dialysis or passage through Sephadex G-25. Cabbage stigmas release a heat-labile substance capable of inhibiting germination of self-pollen, but stigma extracts from a cross plant have no effect.     

野生稻和非洲栽培稻抗稗草种质资源筛选和评价

以盆栽试验对20份野生稻和５份非洲栽培稻材料的稗草出苗率、距离稻株不同范围播种的稗草株高和干重的抑制效果进行评价,并通过聚类分析和方差分析,将其划分为6类。再以稻叶水提液培养稗草,依其发芽抑制率、芽长抑制率、根长抑制率和发芽指数,再次聚类并划分为5类。盆栽和浸提液试验中效果均好的3份野生稻S37、S68、S72和     

Allelopathic Effects of Parthenium hysterophorus Extracts on Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Eragrostis tef

The present study was conducted to investigate the allelopathic effects of Parthenium hysterophorus weed on seed germination and seedling growth of tef. Flower, stem, root and leaf aqueous extracts of Parthenium at 0, 1, 5, and 10 % concentrations were applied to determine their effect on tef seed germination and seedling growth under laboratory conditions. Increasing concentrations of aqueous extracts of Parthenium from leaf and flower inhibited seed germination and complete failure of seed germination was recorded when the extract concentration from the leaf part was 10 %. In contrast, aqueous extracts from stem and root had no effect on tef seed germination. Roots appeared more sensitive to allelopathic effect than shoots. Extracts from flower, root and stem had a stimulatory effect on shoot length at all concentration levels, as against an inhibitory effect of leaf extracts. Root extracts at low concentration (1 %) greatly promoted root length but aqueous extracts from leaf and flower inhibited root length.     

Allelopathic Effects of Black Mustard (Brassica nigra) on Germination and Growth of Wild Barley (Hordeum spontaneum)

Black mustard [Brassica nigra (L.) Koch.] contains water‐soluble allelochemicals that inhibit the germination and growth of other species. This characteristic could be used in weed management programmes. Greenhouse and laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the effects on wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum Koch.) germination and seedling growth of (i) preceding crops, (ii) fresh black mustard residue incorporation, and (iii) black mustard leaf, stem, flower and root water extract concentrations. Growth of wild barley, as indicated by plant height and weight, was significantly reduced when grown in soil previously cropped to black mustard compared with that cropped to wild barley. Soil incorporation of fresh black mustard roots and both roots and shoots reduced wild barley germination, plant height and weight when compared with a no‐residue control. In bioassays, black mustard extracts reduced wild barley hypocotyl length, hypocotyl weight, radicle weight, seed germination, and radicle length by as much as 44, 55, 57, 63 and 75 %, respectively, when compared with a water control. Increasing the water extract concentrations from 4 to 20 g per 100 ml of water of all black mustard parts significantly increased the inhibition of wild barley germination, seedling length and weight. Based on 8‐day‐old wild barley radicle length, averaged across all extract concentrations, the degree of toxicity of different black mustard plant parts can be ranked in the following order of inhibition: leaves > flowers > mixture of all plant parts > stems > roots.     

Germination characters and early seedling growth of wheat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Triticum aestivum</Emphasis> L.) genotypes under salt stress conditions

Screening of wheat genotypes as salt tolerance through seed germination and early seedling growth is crucial for their evaluation. Seeds of 20 wheat genotypes were germinated in Petri dishes on a sand bed irrigated with saline (15 dS m_-1) and control solutions for 10 days and also tested at different salinity levels (control, 4, 6, 8, and 10 dS m^-1) which were artificially developed in the soil for 30 days. At 10 days, germination percentage, rate of germination, co-efficient of germination, germination vigor index, shoot length, root length, and seedling dry weight were found to be affected due to salinity. Salt tolerance index (STI) for seedling dry weight maintained a significant positive correlation with rate of germination, germination vigor index, shoot length, and root length, which indicates that these parameters could be used as selection criteria for screening wheat genotypes against salt stress. Significant differences in shoot length, root length, and seedling dry weight in 30-day-old seedlings were observed among selected wheat genotypes as well. From the overall observation of germination characters and early seedling growth, it was concluded that the wheat genotypes including Gourab, Shatabdi, Bijoy, Prodip, BARI Gom 26, BAW 1186, and BAW 1189 showed better salt tolerance as compared to others.