Late‐season photosynthetic rate and senescence were associated with grain yield in winter wheat of diverse origins

There is a lack of studies that have investigated grain yield, its components and photosynthesis in late stages of wheat growth, giving us insufficient understanding of how these factors interact to contribute to yield during this period. As a result, three field experiments were carried out examining 20 winter wheat genotypes of diverse origins under irrigated, terminal drought and dryland conditions in the southern Idaho. Our objective was to evaluate the interaction between post‐anthesis physiological traits, especially leaf‐level photosynthetic capacity, senescence and yield components on grain yield in different moisture regimes. Genotype differences were found in leaf‐level photosynthesis and senescence, canopy temperature depression, grain yield and yield components in each water regime. Grain yield was closely associated with traits related to grain numbers. In all three moisture regimes, positive correlations were observed between grain yield and photosynthesis that were dependent on the timing or physiological growth stage of the photosynthetic measurement: highly significant correlations were found in the mid‐ and late grain filling stages, but no correlations at anthesis. Consistent with these findings, flag leaf senescence at the late grain filling stage was negatively correlated with grain yield and photosynthetic rate (under terminal drought and dryland conditions). These findings provided evidence that grain yield was sink‐limited until the final stages of growth, at which time sustained photosynthesis and delayed senescence were critical in filling grain. Because the trends were consistent in moisture sufficient and deficient conditions, the results suggest that late‐season photosynthesis and delayed leaf senescence are driven by the size of the reproductive carbon sink, which was largely governed by factors affecting grain numbers.     

全生物降解地膜覆盖对旱地土壤水分状况及春小麦产量和水分利用效率的影响

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ecological effect of full biodegradable film mulching and its effect on the production of spring wheat, and to seek a green, efficient and sustainable coverage in the semi-arid area of the Northwest Loess Plateau. Taking the uncovered land as the control (CK), to systematically studied the effects of full biodegradable film mulching (BM) and the polyethylene film mulching (PM) with bunch planting on soil water status, rain fallow efficiency and its impact on yield and water use efficiency of dryland spring wheat from 2015 to 2018. The results showed that both BM and PM significantly increased the water storage of 0-200 cm soil layer and rain fallow efficiency in each growth period of spring wheat, but there was not significant differences between BM and PM. From 2015 to 2018, the water storage of BM increased by 9.5 mm, 14.2 mm, 25.0 mm, and 39.0 mm respectively compared with CK. In the fourth year of continuous cropping, the water storage of PM, BM and CK 0-200 cm soil layers were 347.5 mm, 345.5 mm and 320.0 mm, respectively. Compared with CK, the rain fallow efficiency of BM and PM increased by 39.63% and 43.98%, respectively, which effectively alleviated the risk of spring drought in the next season. BM was similar to PM in seedling rate, the number of productive ears and the percentage of productive spike, and significantly higher than CK. The number of BM seedlings increased by 15.87% compared with CK in dry year, the number of productive ears increased by 14.70% on average in other years except 2015, and the percentage of productive spike increased by 3.08% on average in four years. The total amount of dry matter accumulation of BM was basically the same as PM, and before anthesis was slightly lower than PM, but higher than PM after anthesis, which was more conducive to grain filling and yield formation, and the amount of dry matter accumulation of both BM and PM are significantly higher than CK in each growth period. The annual average water consumption of PM, BM and CK was 287.46 mm, 289.76 mm, and 276.06 mm, respectively, and compared with PM, BM increased the evaporation water consumption. Compared with CK, the grain yield of BM and PM increased 48.07% and 54.95% respectively, and water use efficiency increased 46.08% and 56.07% in four years, there was not significant differences between BM and PM. There was not significant differences in soil water effect and yield effect between the full biodegradable film and PE film, and the full biodegradable film can be applied to the whole field soil-plastic mulching with bunch planting of spring wheat in dry land and provide technical support for the green and efficient production of wheat in dry land.     

Optimal regimes of selection for grain yield and harvest index in spring wheat

Summary Alternative strategies of multi-site testing of advanced lines in the northern wheat belt of New South Wales have been evaluated, using genetic parameters for large plot grain yield and hill plot harvest index estimated from dryland and irrigated trials at regional sites during 1975–1981. The average pairwise genetic correlation of large plot grain yields recorded at different sites within years was 0.45±.03, with a mean repeatability within trials of 0.56±.05. Harvest index measured in 20-grain hill plots in 1978 showe genetic correlations of 0.98±.08 with plot yield at the same site, and 0.39±0.06 with plot yield assessed at other sites in the same year.The genetic correlation between harvest index in hill plots and total biological yield in large plots at the same site was 0.84±.13, the relationship showing no evidence of curvilinearity. Selection for harvest index in hill plots is therefore expected to lead to an increase in biological yield as well as grain yield in the breeding populations studied. Quantitative genetic theory suggests that the response to selection for grain yield can be increased by approximately 40% with an initial screening using hill plot harvest index at three sites instead of one, and reallocation of resources in the first stage of large plot yield assessment to include 6–8 sites, rather than dryland and irrigated trials at a single location.     

Reduction in kernel weight as a potential indirect selection criterion for wheat grain yield under terminal heat stress

Heat is an important abiotic stress during wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grain‐filling in South Asia. A study was undertaken to determine effectiveness of selection for reduction in 1000‐kernel weight (TKWR) under heat stress to increase grain yield. Selection was made for low and high TKWR and selected progenies were evaluated in timely and late seeded trials at two locations in Nepal in 2003. One thousand kernel weight (TKW), biomass yield, grain yield, harvest index (HI), grain‐filling duration (GFD) and area under spot blotch progress curve per day (AUDPC/day) were examined. The low and high TKWR groups did not differ significantly for TKW, biomass yield, grain yield, HI, days to heading, GFD and AUDPC/day under timely seeding. However, low TKWR lines showed higher TKW, biomass yield, grain yield, HI, and GFD and lower AUDPC/day than the lines with high TKWR under late seeding. Realized heritability estimates for TKWR ranged from 0.68 to 0.85. The findings show that selection for low TKWR could be used as an indirect selection criterion to identify high grain yielding lines under terminal heat stress.     

Selection of wheat genotypes for biomass allocation to improve drought tolerance and carbon sequestration into soils

The biomass allocation pattern of plants to shoots and roots is a key in the cycle of elements such as carbon, water and nutrients with, for instance, the greatest allocations to roots fostering the transfer of atmospheric carbon to soils through photosynthesis. Several studies have investigated the root to shoot ratio (R:S) biomass of existing crops but variation within a crop species constitutes an important information gap for selecting genotypes aiming for increasing soil carbon stocks for climate change mitigation and food security. The objectives of this study were to evaluate agronomic performance and quantify biomass production and allocation between roots and shoots, in response to different soil water levels to select promising genotypes for breeding. Field and greenhouse experiments were carried out using 100 genotypes including wheat and Triticale under drought‐stressed and non‐stressed conditions. The experiments were set‐up using a 10 × 10 alpha lattice design with two replications under water stress and non‐stress conditions. The following phenotypic traits were collected: number of days to heading (DTH), number of productive tillers per plant (NPT), plant height (PH), days to maturity (DTM), spike length (SL), kernels per spike (KPS), thousand kernel weight (TKW), root biomass (RB), shoot biomass (SB), root to shoot ratio (R:S) and grain yield (GY). There was significant (p < 0.05) variation for grain yield and biomass production because of genotypic variation. The highest grain yield of 247.3 g/m² was recorded in the genotype LM52 and the least was in genotype Sossognon with 30 g/m². Shoot biomass ranged from 830 g/m² (genotype Arenza) to 437 g/m² (LM57), whilst root biomass ranged between 603 g/m² for Triticale and 140 g/m² for LM15 across testing sites and water regimes. Triticale also recorded the highest R:S of 1.2, whilst the least was 0.30 for wheat genotype LM18. Overall, drought stress reduced total biomass production by 35% and R:S by 14%. Genotypic variation existed for all measured traits useful for improving drought tolerance, whilst the calculated R:S values can improve accuracy in estimating C sequestration potential of wheat. Wheat genotypes LM26, LM47, BW140, LM70, LM48, BW152, LM75, BW162, LM71 and BW141 were selected for further development based on their high total biomass production, grain yield potential and genetic diversity under drought stress.     

Modulation of photosynthate supply by CO2 elevation affects the post‐head‐emergence frost‐induced grain yield loss in wheat

Post‐head‐emergence frost (PHEF) has a detrimental impact on grain yield of wheat, and an enhanced photosynthate supply could alleviate the negative impact. However, modulation of photosynthate availability at different growth stages may exert different effects on the plant physiology and grain yield. The objective of this study was to investigate the roles of the enhanced photosynthate supply by growing the plants at elevated [CO₂] (800 ppm) during different growth stages on yield performance of wheat exposed to PHEF. The results showed that the PHEF caused a high grain yield loss in wheat, and an increase in photosynthate supply during the reproductive growth stage mitigated the negative impact, whereas that at vegetative growth stage exacerbated the negative impact of PHEF. The opposite effects exerted by the enhanced photosynthate supply at vegetative stage versus at reproductive stage on yield performance could be associated with its distinguished roles in influencing plant physiology at the two growth stages. The positive effect of the increased photosynthate supply at reproductive stage was due to an improved grain filling and regeneration of effective tillers upon recovery from frost, whereas the negative effects of the enhanced photosynthate supply at vegetative growth stage were primarily due to an accelerated early vegetative growth that increased the sensibility of the plants to PHEF.     

Pattern analysis on grain yield performance of Chinese and CIMMYT spring wheat cultivars sown in China and CIMMYT

Understanding the relationships among testing environments is essential for better targeting cultivars to production environments. To identify patterns of cultivar, environment, cultivar-by-environment interactions, and opportunities for indirect selection for grain yield, a set of 25 spring wheat cultivars from China and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) was evaluated in nine environments in China and four management environments at CIMMYT in Cd. Obregon, Mexico, during two wheat seasons. Genetic background and original environment were the main factors influencing grain yield performance of the cultivars. Baviacora M 92, Xinchun 2 and Xinchun 6 showed relatively more stable and higher grain yields, whereas highly photoperiod sensitive cultivars Xinkehan 9, Kefeng 6 and Longmai 19 proved consistently inferior across environments, except in Harbin and Keshan, the two high latitude environments. Longmai 26, also from high latitude environments in the north-eastern Heilongjiang province, was however probably not as photoperiodicly sensitive as other cultivars from that region, and produced much higher grain yield and expressed a broader adaptation. None of the environments reported major diseases. Pattern analyses revealed that photoperiod response and planting option on beds were the two main factors underlying the observed interactions for grain yield. The production environment of planting on the flat in Mexico grouped together with Huhhot and Urumqi in both wheat seasons, indicating an indirect response to selection for grain yield in this CIMMYT managed environment could benefit the two Chinese environments. Both the environment of planting on the flat with Chinese Hejin and Yongning, and the three CIMMYT environments planting on raised beds with Chinese Yongning grouped together only in one season, showing that repeatability may not be stable in this case.     

The stage sensitivity of short‐term heat stress to lodging‐resistant traits and yield determination in canola (Brassica napus L.)

With the expected increase of abiotic stress under global climate change, significant research has been devoted to how abiotic stress will affect crop production. To date, there has been little research on the stage sensitivity of short‐term heat stress to crop lodging and yield determination in canola. This research was conducted in a controlled growth facility and aimed to examine root morphology, pod fertility, seed yield and crop lodging of two contrasting canola genotypes subjected to a short‐term heat stress (27.0/24.3°C, light/dark), imposed respectively at three growth stages, rosette vegetative stage (RVHT), early flowering stage (EFHT) and late flowering stage (LFHT), in comparison with non‐stressed control (CK) (23/17°C). The results demonstrate that heat stress imposed at RVHT and LFHT was less detrimental to seed yield and lodging resistance. However, EFHT showed significant adverse effects on both, which was further confirmed by redundancy analysis (RDA) and structural equation modelling (SEM). Compared with the CK, EFHT resulted in a yield loss of 43%, which was mainly due to poor pod fertility, less number of filled pods (?28%), decreased pollen viability (?38%) and a lower success ratio of filled pods (?29%). The taproot was found to be relatively tolerant to heat stress, but lateral roots were sensitive to heat stress at EFHT and LFHT. Root capacitance could be used as a non‐destructive method for evaluating lateral root morphology. Compared with the CK, EFHT displayed a high risk of stem lodging, as indicated by a 27% lower safety factor. This was mainly attributed to the reduced stem bending strength that was caused by the deterioration of stem mechanical properties under EFHT, as illustrated by SEM. Root lodging resistance was not altered by any stages of short‐term heat stress, as the taproot remained stable.     

微喷补灌对麦田土壤物理性状及冬小麦耗水和产量的影响

黄淮海麦区水资源短缺,探明畦灌和微喷补灌对麦田土壤物理性状及冬小麦耗水特性、产量和水分利用效率调节的差异,可为该地区冬小麦节水高产栽培提供理论和技术支持。2016—2018年冬小麦生长季,设置畦灌和微喷补灌两处理,研究其对麦田0～40 cm土层土壤容重、总孔隙度、毛管孔隙度、田间持水率,及冬小麦各生育阶段棵间蒸发量、蒸腾量、籽粒产量和水分利用效率的影响。结果表明微喷补灌处理与畦灌处理相比, 0～20 cm土层土壤容重降低,总孔隙度、毛管孔隙度和田间持水率增加;冬小麦返青后春季分蘖明显减少,返青至拔节期的棵间蒸发量和蒸腾量及全生育期总耗水量均显著减少;籽粒产量无明显变化,但水分利用效率显著提高,说明微喷补灌可以改善麦田土壤物理性状,优化冬小麦群体结构,通过减少棵间蒸发和植株无效蒸腾降低麦田耗水量,从而在维持高产水平的同时提高水分利用效率。     

Evaluation of grain yield and its components in wheat cultivars and landraces under near optimal and drought conditions

In a 2-years experiment, 30 wheat cultivars and 21 landraces from different countries were tested under near optimum and drought stress conditions. Plant height, number of sterile spikelets per spike, spikelets per spike, number of kernels per spike, kernel weight per spike, 1000 kernel weight and grain yield were evaluated. The number of kernels per spike, 1000 kernel weight and especially yield were more sensitive to drought stress in the cultivars than plant height and number of spikelets per spike, while in the landraces these traits did not differ under drought stress compared to near optimum conditions. The average yield of cultivars was significantly better than the average yield of landraces under near optimum as well as drought stress conditions. Path coefficient analysis showed that for cultivars under near optimum conditions there was no significant direct association of any of the analysed characters with yield, while under drought stress conditions, number of kernels per spike had a significant positive direct effect. Under drought stress conditions, the number of sterile spikelets displayed a negative direct effect, while kernel weight per spike had a positive direct effect on yield. Hierarchical cluster analysis was used as a tool to classify cultivars and landraces according to their yield ability under near optimum and drought stress conditions. Among the cultivars, two groups out of five and among one of three in the landraces were characterised by high yields in both near optimum as well as under drought stress conditions. These genotypes may serve as sources of germplasm for breeding for drought tolerance. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Yield, biomass and yield components in dwarf, semi-dwarf and tall isogenic lines of spring wheat under recommended and late sowing dates

Grain yield and some of its physiological determinants were analysed in a field study conducted over two growing seasons with standard-height (SH), semi-dwarf (SD) and dwarf (DD) isogenic lines of a spring wheat sown at recommended and delayed dates. The objective was to test whether the action of Rht1 and Rht2 alleles in improving grain yield depended upon sowing date. As expected, the dwarfing genes significantly reduced plant height in both sowings and growing seasons. There was a tendency for the SD line to produce more biomass than the SH and DD lines, although the differences were mostly not significant. Harvest index was linearly and negatively related to plant height. Consequently, the SD and SH line showed the highest and lowest grain yields in all environments. The optimum height for grain yield was estimated to be c. 70 cm, and this value was not affected by sowing date. Lines carrying Rht1 and/or Rht2 alleles always showed more grains/m² (owing to an increased number of grains per spike and spikes/m²) than the SH line. Conversely, average grain weight was negatively associated with the number of grains/m². Because the slope of this negative relationship was smaller (less negative) than that representing complete compensation, the relationship between grain yield and number of grains/m² was hyperbolic. Although these relationships are frequently regarded as a reflection of increased competition among grains when the number of grains/m² is increased owing to the use of semi-dwarf genes, two alternative hypotheses are analysed and discussed.     

Analysis of genotypic variation for normalized difference vegetation index and its relationship with grain yield in winter wheat under terminal heat stress

Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), which is a measure of leaf greenness (chlorophyll content), is considered to be correlated with crop productivity. This study was conducted to examine genotypic variations for NDVI at different growth stages and its relationship to yield in winter wheat under terminal heat stress. Thirty winter wheat genotypes were evaluated at two locations in 2009–2010 and 2010–2011 in Uzbekistan. The NDVI was recorded at booting, heading, milk and dough stages. The wheat genotypes differed significantly for NDVI at each stage. Grain yield ranged from 3.9 to 6.1 t/ha. Wheat genotypes differed in per cent decline in NDVI from booting to dough stage. However, several high‐yielding genotypes maintained higher NDVI than low‐yielding genotypes when heat stress was evident. The findings suggest change in NDVI during heat stress could be a measure of tolerance. The positive correlation of NDVI with grain yield suggests that it could be used as an indirect selection criterion for identifying physiologically superior, high‐yielding wheat lines under terminal heat stress.     

秸秆还田结合秋覆膜对旱地冬小麦耗水特性和产量的影响

秸秆还田和秋覆膜是西北旱地雨养农业区冬小麦生产中有效的节水增产措施。为明确西北半干旱雨养农业区不同作物秸秆还田结合秋覆膜种植模式下冬小麦田土壤蓄水保墒和节水增产效果,于2011年9月至2013年6月连续2个小麦生长季在甘肃省通渭县进行了田间定位试验,比较玉米秸秆还田结合秋覆膜、单一玉米秸秆还田、麦秸秆还田结合秋覆膜、单一麦秸秆还田和传统平作种植对西北旱地冬小麦耗水特性和籽粒产量的影响。结果表明,与传统平作相比,冬小麦全生育期秸秆还田结合秋覆膜处理0～200 cm平均土壤贮水量在2011—2012和2012—2013年度分别提高6.1%和9.6%,而单一秸秆还田分别提高0.7%和4.6%。在降水偏多的2011—2012年度,除玉米秸秆还田结合秋覆膜处理冬小麦全生育期0～200 cm土壤贮水消耗量比传统平作低19.0 mm (P0.05)外,其余各处理无显著差异;在降水偏少的2012—2013年度,秸秆还田及秸秆还田结合秋覆膜处理平均比传统平作多耗水39.1 mm,其中,两个秸秆还田结合秋覆膜处理显著增加冬小麦返青至拔节阶段的耗水量,显著降低开花至成熟阶段耗水量,并增加了对深层土壤水分的调用。与传统平作相比,秸秆还田结合秋覆膜处理可使小麦籽粒产量提高31.0%～69.4%,水分利用效率提高25.6%～43.0%;而单一秸秆还田的小麦籽粒产量提高1.2%～28.0%,水分利用效率提高3.0%～11.6%。以玉米秸秆还田结合秋覆膜处理增产效果最好,2年平均籽粒产量和水分利用效率分别较传统平作提高51.1%和41.7%,且显著高于其他处理。因此,玉米秸秆还田结合秋覆膜种植模式能显著提高冬小麦籽粒产量和水分利用效率,适宜在西北旱农区小麦生产中应用。     

The relation between grain yield and some related traits of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and their usefulness in a breeding program

Summary The objective of this study was to evaluate traits which can facilitate and improve selection for grain yield of spring barley. Five experiments were conducted in different environments to measure grain yield and yield related traits of breeding lines and exotic varieties. Differences for rate of canopy expansion were significant and offer the opportunity to select for a high weed suppressing potential but there was no relation to grain yield. Dry matter yield/m² at anthesis and its water-soluble-carbohydrate content were not correlated with grain yield/m² and number of grains/m². Variation in biomass among breeding lines with a similar development and plant height was small. Biomass standardized for plant height was stable across environments and showed a good correlation with number of grains and grain yield. The contribution of pre-anthesis assimilation to grain yield was only important under low yielding experimental conditions, but the differences among the genotypes for this trait were inconsistent. It may be difficult to select genotypes with a high potential contribution of pre-anthesis assimilation to grain yield.     

Agronomic performance of winter wheat grown under highly divergent soil moisture conditions in rainfed and water‐managed environments

Even in the temperate climates of Europe, increasing early season drought and rising air temperature are presenting new challenges to farmers and wheat breeders. Sixteen winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes consisting of three hybrids, six line cultivars and two breeding lines from Germany as well as five line cultivars from France, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and the Ukraine (referred to as “exotic” lines) have been included in this study. The genetic materials were evaluated over three growing seasons under a range of soil moisture regimes at the three North German sites Braunschweig (irrigated and drought‐stressed), Warmse (rainfed) and Söllingen (rainfed). The average grain yields in the twelve growth environments (water regime × season combinations) ranged from 6.1 to 13.5 t ha^?1. The exotic lines showed little evidence of specific phenological adaptation to drought although they are frequently faced with water scarcity in their countries of origin. The hybrids and German lines exhibited higher regression coefficients (b_i) to environmental means than the exotic lines, indicating particular adaptation to favourable growing conditions. The phenotypical correlations of grain yield between the various environments were high, ranging for instance from 0.6 to 0.8 for the irrigated and drought‐stressed environments at Braunschweig. It is thus expected that in the foreseeable future continued selection aiming at high yield potential will suffice as a means to counter the expected increase in droughts.     

Responses of differentially expressed proteins and endogenous hormones in winter rapeseed (Brassica rapa L.) roots under water deficit stress

Winter rapeseed (Brassica rapa L.) can well-adapt to environmental conditions such as barrenness, water deficit and low temperature in arid and semi-arid planting regions and is the preferred rapeseed type. In this study, we analysed changes of root system morphology, antioxidant enzyme activity, endogenous hormone contents and differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) under control (CK), slight water deficit (SWD, 50–55% of maximum field water capacity), moderate water deficit (MWD, 40–45% of maximum field water capacity) and high water deficit (HWD, 30–35% of maximum field water capacity) conditions. Winter rapeseed experienced taproot elongation, decreased taproot diameter and increased lateral root number, under water deficit stress. The accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can cause membrane system peroxidation, and antioxidant enzyme activity increases to remove ROS. Changes in jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA), cytokinin (CTK), auxin (IAA) and gibberellin (GA) levels promote the absorption of water and minerals by driving changes in the root system architecture to resist water deficit stress. A proteomic analysis has shown that DEPs are involved in energy metabolism, antioxidation response, osmotic regulation, hormone signal transduction, protein metabolism and the stress response, and these proteins are located in the peroxisome, chloroplast, mitochondrion, cell wall, vacuole, cytoplasm, extracellular space and cell membrane. In this study, multiple DEPs (malate dehydrogenase cytoplasmic 1 OS, 14-3-3-like protein GF14 Psi, GA 3-beta-dioxygenase, glutathione reductase and jasmonate-inducible protein) were involved in the root system architecture, revealing the complexity of the root response to water deficit. Significant/extremely significant synergistic relationships were observed between antioxidant enzyme activity and endogenous hormone contents. In conclusion, ROS, endogenous hormones and stress-related proteins work synergistically to control the root system architecture of winter rapeseed roots in response to water deficit stress.