Photosynthetic Acclimation and Productivity of Mungbean Cultivars under Elevated CO2 Concentration

Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek] cultivars (Pusa Baisakhi, PS 16 and P 105) were grown in field at atmospheric (360 ± 10 ppm, AC) and elevated CO₂ (650 ± 50 ppm, EC) concentrations inside open top chambers for entire period of growth and development till maturity. Leaf net photosynthesis rate (P_N) of AC and EC grown plants when compared at same CO₂ concentration showed no significant down‐regulation of P_N in EC plants. In cv. P 105, even up‐regulation of P_N was observed in EC plants. Mungbean cultivars accumulated assimilates in the leaves during the day mostly in the form of starch. Nodule number and weight were also higher in EC plants. The positive effect of elevated CO₂ on P_N, dry‐matter production and seed yield was better expressed in cv. P 105 having greater podding ability.     

Pflanzenwachstum durch CO2/HCO3-Eintrag über die Wurzel

Plant Growth after Application of CO₂/HCO₃ to the Roots
After applying H¹⁴CO₃ to the root system of summer wheat in hermetically sealed pots, absorption and incorporation of HCO₃ in the sugar-, starch-, and fibre-fraction (approximately 50 % of the absorped ¹⁴C) could be shown. This fraction reached 0.44–1.21 % of total C-assimilation of the shoot during growing stage F9/F10 on the Feeke-scala. 1/3 of the HCO₃-fraction resting in the soil was bound organically indicating that microorganisms may be able to utilize exogenous anorganic CO₂/HCO₃ for their photosynthesis.     

Effects of increased atmospheric CO2 on varieties of oat

The effects of elevated CO₂ were investigated on seven Scandinavian varieties of oat. Three landraces (before 1920), two varieties of intermediate‐age (1920‐1940), and two recent varieties (after 1940) were exposed to two atmospheric CO2 concentrations (approx. 380 and 700 ppm). Elevated CO₂ increased the yield 7% on average but with large variation between varieties. The yield‐response was variety specific and not related to the age of the variety. The mean seed number increased about 11%, with an increase in the landraces and diverging responses within the other age groups. The mean seed weight was reduced about 5.5%, with small changes within the landraces and diverging results within the two other age‐groups. The mean dry biomass was increased about 20%; the landraees had a marked increase in dry biomass, while the response in the other varieties ranged from a large increase to a small decrease. These different responses among varieties provide a spectrum of trait‐combinations desirable in breeding oats for different purposes. The quality of the seeds was not affected by the elevated CO₂.     

Selection for sugar yield in sugar beet, Beta vulgaris, using different selection indices

In sugar beet breeding, sugar yield is mainly influenced by root yield and sugar content. In this short communication several indices to select for both traits simultaneously are compared in order to find the best one. The indices are correlated with the base index of Williams (1962) from independent experiments. The indices differ in the amount of information necessary for the calculation of their weights. Three different series of each eight sites gave similar results. The optimum index using all information from phenotypic and genotypic variances and covariances, did not perform best. Sugar content with its higher herit ability must have a larger weight than root yield. Heritabilities as index weights performed best, but two other indices using heritabilities and phenotypic but no genetic covariances also performed well.     

Characterization of CO2 Responsiveness in a Brassica oxycamp Interspecific Hybrid

A study of the characterization of CO₂ responsiveness in Brassica oxycamp and its parents Brassica oxyrrhina and Brassica campestris was done using open top chamber technology. The response of the X. B. oxycamp (hybrid) to elevated CO₂ was significantly positive in respect of photosynthesis and growth and similar to that of its parent B. campestris. X B. oxycamp and B. campestris with greater sink potential responded significantly, whereas B. oxyrrhina with a poor sink, did not respond to CO₂ enrichment. Photosynthetic changes at elevated CO₃ levels in the hybrid and parents are partially attributed to the CO₂ effects on stomatal conductance and chlorophyll fluorescence.     

Stoffbildung, CO2-Gaswechsel, Kohlenhydrat- und Stickstoffgehalt von Winterweizen bei erhöhter CO2-Konzentration und Trocken-streß

Dry Matter Production, CO₂ Exchange, Carbohydrate and Nitrogen Content of Winter Wheat at Elevated CO₂ Concentration and Drought Stress
Methods of mathematical modelling and simulation are being used to an increasing degree in estimating the effects of rising atmospheric CO₂ concentration and changing climatic conditions on agricultural ecosystems. In this context, detailed knowledge is required about the possible effects on crop growth and physiological processes. To this aim, the influence of an elevated CO₂ concentration and of drought stress on dry matter production, CO₂ exchange, and on carbohydrate and nitrogen content was studied in two winter wheat varieties from shooting to milk ripeness. Elevated CO₂ concentration leads to a compensation of drought stress and at optimal water supply to an increase of vegetative dry matter and of yield to the fourfold value. This effects were caused by enhanced growth of secondary tillers which were reduced in plants cultivated at atmospheric CO₂ concentration. Analogous effects in the development of ear organs were influenced additionally by competitive interactions between the developing organs. The content and the mass of ethanol soluble carbohydrates in leaves and stems were increased after the CO₂ treatment and exhausted more completely during the grain filling period after drought stress. Plants cultivated from shooting to milk ripeness at elevated CO₂ concentration showed a reduced response of net photosynthesis rate to increasing CO₂ concentration by comparison with untreated plants. The rate of dark respiration was increased in this plants.     

Relationship of Root and Shoot Characters in Parent, F1 and F2 Populations of Rice

The direct and indirect contributions of root characters — root length, roots/plant, fresh and dry root weight on grain yield/plant were worked out from a 7 × 7 diallel set of rice hybrids. The materials were grown in pots with four replications. Path analysis was done at genotypic level of correlation.
The grain yield/plant showed positive correlation with all the root characters in parent, F₁ and F₂ except with roots/plant in F₁ population. Fresh root weight demonstrated positive direct effect on grain yield/plant in all the three generations. Roots/plant had highly positive direct effect in F₂. Direct effects were negative in respect of root length and dry root weight in F₂ generation.     

Heterosis performance of yield and fibre quality in F1 and F2 hybrids in upland cotton

Because of the difficulty of producing F₁ hybrid seeds by hand emasculation and pollination, wide use of heterosis in cotton production has been limited in China. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of F₂ hybrids for yield and fibre quality. A half diallel involving eight parents and their F₁ and F₂ hybrids was grown in replicated studies at Linqing and Nanjing in 1999 and Nanjing in 2000. Yield and fibre quality was determined for all 64 entries. Fibre quality was also determined for parents and F₁s, but only for Zhongmiansuo 28 (ZMS28), Xiangzamian 2 (XZM2) and Wanmian 13 (WM13) F₂s. These three F₂ hybrids are extensively planted in China and provide experimental controls with which to compare the performance of new hybrids. Average yield heterosis for F₁s and F₂s was 15.9 and 9.2%, respectively. Inbreeding depression for yield varied but some F₂s greatly out‐yielded the best variety. Average F₁ heterosis was 6.7, 6.2 and 2.9%, respectively for number of bolls per unit area, boll weight, and lint percentage. The average F₂ heterosis for the same traits was 4.4, 3.3 and 1.6%, respectively. F₁ heterosis for fibre traits was low. In general, parental average was a good indicator of the yield and fibre quality of F₁ hybrids. These encouraging results suggest there is sufficient heterosis for yield to use F₂s in China.     

Heterosis for yield and other agronomic traits of winter triticale F1 and F2 hybrids

Triticale is generally treated as a self‐pollinating crop and line breeding is practised. Hybrid breeding has been discussed for some time, but there is little information for winter triticale. This study investigated heterosis for eight agronomic traits in F₁ and F₂ hybrids grown together with their parents as drilled plots in three environments. On average, grain yield heterosis was 12.5 dt/ha (a relative 10.5%) compared with the mid‐parent value for F₁ hybrids, and 6.2 dt/ha (5.0%) for F₂ hybrids and withawide range of 4.4–17.1 dt/ha for F₁ hybrids. A positive contribution to the heterosis of yield was made by kernels/spike and 1000‐kernel weight, whereas spikes/m² showed negative heterosis. Hybrid plants in F₁ and F₂ were taller than mid‐parents (8.3 cm and 5.3 cm, respectively), with a tendency to earlier heading. The negative heterosis for falling number in F₁ and F₂ hybrids could be a problem for commercial production of triticale hybrids. By selecting parents for combining ability and the identification of heterotic patterns, grain yield heterosis of 20% appears feasible.     

Performance of S2 Winter Barley Progenies from Original and Improved Populations Developed via Recurrent Selection

The effect of recurrent selection procedure for improving grain yield in autogamous cereals was evaluated in a six-rowed winter barley population. Gain from selection was estimated by field testing 90 random S2 lines from each of the C₀, C₁ and C₂ populations. Response to selection for grain yield was 0.78 t/ha from C₀ to C₁ and 1.09 t/ha from C₁ to C₂. Broad-sense heritability and genotypic variance for grain yield remained high in all cycles which suggests further gain from additional selection cycles. Yield increase was due to a higher number of seeds/m2. Significant differences among mean values were observed for heading date (189 days in C₀ and 182 days in C₂), whereas no variation was seen for plant height and 1000-kernel weight. The proposed recurrent selection procedure appears effective to improve the population and to extract superior genotypes for varietal development.     

Apical Development and Growth of Barley under Different CO2 and Nitrogen Regimes

Increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration have stimulated interest in the response of agricultural crops to elevated levels of CO₂. Several studies have addressed the response of C₃ cereals to CO₂, but the interactive effect of nutrient supply and CO₂ on apical development and spikelet set and survival has not been investigated thoroughly. Hence, an experiment was conducted in the greenhouse to evaluate the effect of high (700 μmol CO₂mol^?1 air) and low (400 μmol mol^?1) levels of atmospheric CO₂ on apical development, spikelet set and abortion, and pre- and post-anthesis growth in spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) grown under high N (0.3 g N pot^?1 before sowing ?1–0.11 g N pot^?1 week^?1) and low N (0.3 g N pot^?1) regimes. The plants were grown in 5 L pots. Development of spike was hastened due to CO₂ enrichment, and the C+ plants pollinated few days earlier than the C— plants. Carbon dioxide enrichment had no effect on date of ripening. Development of spike slowed following application of extra N, and plants pollinated 10 days later and matured 2 weeks later when compared with plants under low N. Carbon dioxide enrichment did not affect the number of spikelets at anthesis. Excess N decreased spikelet abortion and the increased maximum number of spikelets under both [CO₂]. Barley plants did not tiller when grown in low [CO₂] and low N. Increased endogenous IAA concentration in those plants, recorded three days before tillers appeared in other treatments, may have contributed to this. Carbon dioxide enrichment increased the C concentration of plants, but decreased the N concentration under high N regime. Both the C and N concentration of plants were increased under high N regime. Carbon dioxide enrichment increased the total dry matter of mature plants by 9 % under high N regime and by 21 % under low N regime. Under high [CO₂] increased kernel number on tiller spikes, and increased kernel weight both on main stem and on tiller spikes resulted in a 23 % increase in kernel yield under low N regime and 76 % increase in kernel yield under high N regime. The rate of N application influenced growth and yield components to a greater extent than CO₂ enrichment. At maturity, plant dry matter, kernel weight, the number of kernels per spike, and the number of spikes per plant were higher under high N regime than under low N regime. Long days (16 h), low light intensity (280 μmol m^?2s^?1), and at constant temperature of 20 °C high [CO₂] increased kernel weight and the number of kernels on tiller spikes under high and low N application rate, but did not increase the number of kernels on main stem spike, or the number of tillers or tiller spikes per plant.     

Association of Vertical Root-Pulling Resistance with Root Lodging and Grain Yield in Selected S1 Maize Lines Derived from a Tropical Low-Nitrogen Population

Root lodging and poor soil fertility are major constraints to maize production in the Guinea savannah of West Africa. Vertical root‐pulling resistance is an indicator of the rooting characteristics of maize cultivars and could be used to select cultivars which have higher resistance to root lodging, take up nitrogen efficiently and have high yield. Twenty maize breeding lines were evaluated in the southern Guinea savannah of Nigeria for vertical root‐pulling resistance, yield and root lodging in the 2000 and 2001 cropping seasons. There were significant differences amongst the breeding lines for all the characteristics measured. Vertical root‐pulling resistance correlated positively with grain yield (r = 0.71, P < 0.01). There was a moderate negative correlation between vertical root‐pulling resistance and root lodging (r = ?0.46, P < 0.05). This suggested that selecting for high root‐pulling resistance will improve grain yield and reduce root lodging. There was no significant association between root lodging and grain yield (r = ?0.14, P < 0.22). This was attributed to two factors; weak root systems and high cob weight, both of which caused significant lodging.     

Effect of Whole Season CO2 Enrichment on the Cultivation of a Medicinal Plant, Digitalis lanata

A versatile method was developed for the application of 1000 ppm CO₂ during the whole growth period of plants. Temperature controlled water cooling and ventilation of the greenhouse resulted in a monthly CO₂ enrichment time of 60 to 90 % of the total light period. Digitalis lanata , grown in greenhouses with CO₂ enrichment during the whole growth phase from April to November, produced twice as much biomass as field cultivated plants.
The relative yield of the glycoside digoxin per gram Digitalis drug dry weight was 0.4% in field grown and 0.7% in greenhouse cultivated plants. The production of digoxin per hectare in the greenhouse at 1000 ppm CO₂ was almost 3.5-fold that by field cultivation. Drug yield and secondary metabolite production in D. lanata were remarkably influenced by increased temperature and elevated CO₂ partial pressure in the greenhouse.     

Phenotypic Yield Stability Depending on Plant Density and on Mean Yield per Plant of Winter Rapeseed Varieties and of Their F1 and F2-Generations

Among the common agricultural crops winter-rapeseed ( Brassica napus L.) is considered to be especially susceptible to varying environmental conditions. The commonly used stability statistics, which measure these fluctuations, are based on the yields of genotypes in different environments. An improvement of stability analysis may be obtained by an additional estimation of stability using yield components rather than absolute yield values. Relationships between stability of seed yield (SY) and stabilities of plant densities (PD) and of single plant yield (SPY) were examined for four winter-rapeseed varieties, their six F₁'s and their six F₂'s. Environmental variance was applied to estimate phenotypic stabilities. Furthermore, generations were compared for their stability in SY, PD and SPY. Regarding all genotypes and generations the correlation coefficients did not show any relation between stability of SY and stabilities of PD and of SPY (r = -0.04 and r = -0.17). Comparing generations the F₂ showed a higher stability of SY than varieties and F₁, But no consistent results were obtained regarding PD and SPY. The pattern of the heterotic effects of stability of yield components PD and SPY were different from the respective pattern of SY. Eg although possessing desired heterotic effects in stability of PD and SPY some crosses showed undesired heterotic effects in stability of SY. Therefore, a theory of multiplicative heterosis of stability should be developed in analogy to the corresponding theory for yield.     

Effect of Elevated CO2 and Nitrogen Nutrition on Photosynthesis, Growth and Carbon-Nitrogen Balance in Brassica juncea

The response of Brassica juncea var. Bio-183-92 to elevated CO₂ under increased nitrogen treatment was studied. There was an interactive effect of CO₂ and nitrogen nutrition, indicating that, on the addition of more nitrogen, the plants sustained the positive effect of CO₂ enrichment by utilizing additional carbohydrates for the development of new sinks. Excess carbohydrate enables plants to be flexible and responsive to additional nitrogen application to sustain the CO₂ enrichment effect.     

Elevated CO2 increases wheat cer, leaf and tiller development, and shoot and root growth

Whole-plant responses to elevated CO₂ throughout the life cycle are needed to understand future impacts of elevated atmospheric CO₂. In this study, Triticum aestivum L. leaf carbon exchange rates (CER) and carbohydrates, growth, and development were examined at the tillering, booting, and grain-filling stages in growth chambers with CO₂ concentrations of 350 (ambient) or 700 (high) μmol mol^?1. Single-leaf CER values measured on plants grown at high CO₂ were 50% greater than those measured on plants grown at ambient CO₂ for all growth stages, with no photosynthetic acclimation observed at high CO₂. Leaves grown in high CO₂ had more starch and simple sugars at tillering and booting, and more starch at grain-filling, than those grown in ambient CO₂. CER and carbohydrate levels were positively correlated with leaf appearance rates and tillering (especially third-, fourth- and fifth-order tillers). Elevated CO₂ slightly delayed tiller appearance, but accelerated tiller development after appearance. Although high CO₂ increased leaf appearance rates, final leaf number/culm was not effected because growth stages were reached slightly sooner. Greater plant biomass was related to greater tillering. Doubling CO₂ significantly increased both shoot and root dry weight, but decreased the shoot to root ratio. High CO₂ plants had more spikes plant^?1 and spikelets spike^?1, but a similar number of fertile spikelets spike^?1. Elevated CO₂ resulted in greater shoot, root and spike production and quicker canopy development by increasing leaf and tiller appearance rates and phenology.     

In vitro Selection for Tolerance to Fusarium in F1 Microspore Populations of Wheat

Microspore populations of eight Fhybrids of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) whose parents had different levels of resistance to Fusarium were screened in vitro, using phytotoxins of Fusarium as biochemical probe. Two selection methods were compared for the in vitro selection: either embryoids and calli were first initiated from anthers in toxin-free medium and then grown on medium with 0.3—0.9 %Fusarium toxin; or anthers were immediately cultured in modified liquid potato-2 medium in the presence of 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5ml Fusarium toxin per liter culture medium, a concentration which reduced the number of calli and embryoids to about 10 % compared to the toxin-free controls. Microspores from donor hybrids which were produced from very susceptible cultivars were killed by lower toxin concentrations than micro-spores from hybrids of less susceptible parents. From surviving calli and embryoids, originally initiated from 242,000 anthers in both procedures a total of 375 green lines could be regenerated. The results indicate that it is possible to enrich the fraction of regenerating microspores by those which contain the gene complex responsible for reduced susceptibility to Fusarium by the use of a pathotoxin.     

Effect of Elevated CO2 on the Photosynthesis, Growth and Water Relation of Brassica Species Under Moisture Stress

An attempt has been made to study the interactive effect of elevated CO₂ and moisture stress on photosynthesis, growth and water relations of Brassica species using open top chambers. It was observed that plants responded to elevated CO₂ significantly under moisture stress condition mitigating the adverse effects on photosynthesis and growth of Brassica species. Relatively drought susceptible species, viz. B. campestris and B. nigra , responded to elevated CC₂ markedly as compared to less sensitive B. carinata and B. juncea plants. The water status of plants significantly improved under elevated CO₂ concentration possibly by increasing stomatal resistance and/or by increased root growth.     

Evaluation of F2 and F3 plants introgressed with QTLs for clubroot resistance in cabbage developed by using SCAR markers

Clubroot disease caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae is one of the major diseases of Brassica crops, often devastating to the cultivation of cruciferous crops in temperate regions. In a previous study (Moriguchi et al. 1999) identified three major quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for clubroot resistance, each in a separate linkage group, in a population derived from a cross between a clubroot‐susceptible inbred cabbage line, Y2A and a resistant inbred kale line, K269. In this study, the original random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) markers were converted into sequence‐characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers to facilitate large‐scale marker‐assisted screening of clubroot resistance in cabbage breeding. Of 15 RAPD markers closely linked to the three QTLs, nine SCARs were developed as dominant markers after cloning and sequencing. In addition, two RAPD markers were converted into co‐dominant cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers, and one RFLP marker out of three tested was converted to a dominant SCAR marker. The effect of selection for resistance by the improved markers was evaluated in progeny plants in the F2 and F3. A total of 138 F2 plants were genotyped with nine SCARs and 121 well‐distributed makers consisting of 98 RAPD, 19 RFLP, two isozymes, and two morphological markers in order to estimate the level of resistance and the proportion of undesirable alleles from the kale in non‐target areas in each of the F2 populations. An F2 plant, YK118, had kale alleles at QTL1, QTL3 and QTL9. Three F2 plants, namely, YK107, YK25 and YK51 had kale alleles at only QTL1, QTL3 and QTL9, respectively. These F2 plants were selected for their low proportion of alleles derived from kale in non‐target regions. YK118, like the resistant kale parent, expressed very high resistance to three field isolates of Plasmodiophora brassicae, whereas the mean disease index in the F2 and F3 plants carrying only single QTLs was intermediate. The QTLs showed no differential response to the isolates. These plants with improved resistance will be useful as parental inbred lines for F1 hybrids.     

Determination of the frequencies of restorer- and maintainer-alleles involved in CMS1 and CMS2 in German chive varieties

There are two cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS)‐systems in chives (Allium schoenoprasum L.), which can be employed in hybrid breeding. However, the probability for selection of maintainer genotypes from German open pollinated varieties is not known. Therefore, the allelic frequencies of the restorer genes X and T involved in CMS¹ were determined in 12 German commercial chive varieties by test crossing single plants to male sterile, temperature‐insensitive genotypes [(S₁)xxT] for segregation analyses of offspring. Temperature sensitive genotypes [(S₁)xxT_] are able to produce pollen at higher temperatures, and should therefore be excluded from hybrid breeding to avoid self‐pollination of the maternal parent. The mean value of the frequency of the non‐restoring allele x in the populations examined was 0.62. The mean value of the allele t, which is responsible for the temperature insensitivity, was 0.9. As a consequence of these allelic frequencies about one‐third of all plants of the chive varieties examined were designated CMS₁ maintainer genotypes, leading to the production of temperature insensitive male sterile lines. The incidence of CMS₂ maintainers in the German varieties examined was nearly four times lower than CMS₁ maintainers. The mean value of the frequency of the non‐restoring allele _st2 involved in the CMS₂‐system was 0.29.