Effect of Heat Stress on the Photosynthetic Characteristics in Flag Leaves at the Grain‐Filling Stage of Different Heat‐Resistant Winter Wheat Varieties

Heat stress has become an increasingly important factor in limiting wheat yields. In northern China, high temperature (>30 °C) during the grain filling is one of the major constraints in increasing wheat productivity. We used two winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars with different sensitivities to heat stress (Jimai 22 ‘JM22’, low sensitivity and Xinmai 26 ‘XM26’, high sensitivity) to study the various aspects of photosynthetic characteristics during the grain filling stage under heat stress. The results showed that photosynthesis rates (P_n) in flag leaves of XM26 decreased faster than in JM22 under heat stress during the grain‐filling stage. P_n decreased more rapidly under heat stress than without stress, by up to 69.9% and 59.3%, respectively, at 10 days following heat stress (10 DAS). This decline of P_n was not caused by heat‐induced stomatal limitation, but rather by a decline in Rubisco activity and a functional drop in photosystem II (PSII). After heat stress, the grain yield of JM22 decreased by 6.41%, but XM26 decreased by 11.43%, when compared with their respective controls. Heat stress also caused an alteration of mesophyll cell ultrastructure. Injury caused by heat stress to organelles in XM26 was more severe than JM22. Moreover, the JM22 cultivar showed some self‐repair capacity following heat stress injury. These results indicate that declines in photosynthetic performance caused by heat stress were cultivar‐dependent. Compared with XM26, the JM22 cultivar had superior heat stability in terms of PSII function and carboxylation activity, both of which are susceptible to heat stress.     

A Simple Drought‐Sensitive Model for Leaf : Stem Partitioning of Wheat

We investigated the leaf : stem partitioning of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. varieties ‘Dekan’ and ‘Batis’) with and without drought influence. Irrigated and drought‐stressed winter wheat, grown in a rainout shelter in 2009/10 and 2013/14, were sampled during shoot elongation phase at the experimental Farm Hohenschulen located in Northern Germany. The data set contains leaf (DM_L) and stem dry masses (DM_S), as well as measured water contents for several soil layers. A reduced relative dry matter allocation to leaves was observed under drought stress. Our results clearly show that, if simulated leaf : stem partitioning is not sensitive to drought, this will cause a positive bias in simulated leaf and a negative bias in simulated stem dry matter under water‐limited conditions. This is in accordance with previous studies which revealed that crop simulators often overestimate the impact of drought on light‐use efficiency, whereas the consequences on leaf area development are underestimated. However, the drought stress‐induced shift in leaf : stem partitioning is yet not considered by most common wheat crop simulators. Our aim was to fill the gap in simulation of drought stress implications on leaf area development. A simple allometric model for leaf : stem partitioning () was parameterized. Starting from the allometric leaf : stem relationship observed under optimum water supply, a correction term was introduced, which allows to adapt the partitioning to drought stress conditions. The lg‐transformed root‐weighted soil water potential in the rooting zone (lgψ_root, lg(hPa)), calculated as a function of measured water contents and simulated root distribution, was used as a drought stress indicator. The linear correction term assumes an increase of the stem fraction, proportional to the difference between lgψ_root and a drought stress threshold (pF_crit, lg(hPa)). The analysis revealed that the shift in allometric partitioning towards stem fraction starts with lgψ_root greater than 1.92 [lg(hPa)]. The slope of the relative increase of dry matter allocated to the stem fraction was determined with 0.26 [lg(hPa)^?1]. Both parameters of the correction term were found to be highly significant. Implications for crop modelling are discussed.     

Identification of salt tolerance‐improving quantitative trait loci alleles from a salt‐susceptible rice breeding line by introgression breeding

To improve salt tolerance of two elite rice varieties, Ce258 and Zhongguangxiang1 (ZGX1), two sets of introgression lines (ILs) each comprising 200 BC₁F₁₀ lines derived from a common donor, IR75862, and two recipient parents, Ce258 and ZGX1, were used for mapping of QTLs for four salt tolerance‐related traits at the seedling stage. Although the three parents were susceptible to salt, the two IL populations showed transgressive segregations for salt tolerance with 12 and 8 salt tolerance ILs in the Ce258‐ILs and ZGX1‐ILs. Eighteen main‐effect QTLs were identified for the four traits in the two IL populations, and the IR75862 alleles at most loci showed increased and decreased salt tolerance in the ZGX1 and Ce258 backgrounds, suggesting overwhelming genetic background effects on QTL detection for salt tolerance. The qDSS11 simultaneously detected in the two backgrounds was validated in a F₂ population derived from a salt tolerance line and ZGX1. Our results indicated that salt tolerance‐enhancing allele could be identified in the elite susceptible breeding lines and that introgression of the favourable alleles could facilitate the development of superior lines with greater salt tolerance levels.     

Nitrogen fertilization of warm‐season turfgrasses irrigated from varying irrigation systems: 2. Carbohydrate and protein content

A 3‐year study was conducted at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM, to investigate whether different fertilization treatments affect the carbohydrate and protein content in two warm‐season grasses grown using water conservation strategies such as non‐potable saline irrigation water and a subsurface irrigation system. “Princess 77” bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L.) and “Sea Spray” seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum O. Swartz) were irrigated with either potable (electrical conductivity [EC] = 0.6 dS m^?1) or saline (EC = 3.1 dS m^?1) water from either an overhead or a subsurface drip irrigation system. Four different fertilizers were used in this study: liquid slow release, granular slow release, granular urea and urea liquid, at two rates: 10 and 20 g N m^?2 yr^?1 for “Sea Spray” and 20 and 30 g N m^?2 yr^?1 for “Princess 77.” Carbohydrate (sucrose, starch, total soluble carbohydrates and total non‐structural carbohydrates) and protein content of the grasses were measured, and their effect on spring green‐up was determined. The total carbohydrate content within the stolons and rhizomes was found to be closely associated with speed of spring green‐up, resulting in R² values ranging from 0.36 to 0.76. The relationship between green‐up and carbohydrate content was similar for both grasses. Fertilizer treatment did not affect carbohydrate content in either grass under either irrigation system. Further analysis revealed that carbohydrate content in February was the best determinant for spring green‐up. Other sampling months also showed a significant correlation with spring green‐up, but with lower R² values.     

Germination Responses of Cañahua (Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen) to Temperature and Sowing Depth: A Crop Growing Under Extreme Conditions

Cañahua (Chenopodium pallidicaule) is grown in the Altiplano of Bolivia and Peru, between 3810 and 4200 m a.s.l. Rural indigenous households have cultivated the cañahua as a subsistence crop for millennia. The seeds have a high content and quality of protein. We studied the relation between the following: (i) temperature and seed germination and (ii) the effect of temperature and sowing depth on seedling emergence of five cultivars and one landrace. Three experiments were conducted as follows: (i) seeds of a cultivar were germinated in Petri dishes at six temperatures (3, 5, 10, 14, 20 and 24 °C), (ii) sown at five depths (0, 5, 10, 25 and 50 mm) in a mixed peat soil substrate at three temperatures and (iii) one landrace (Lasta) and 5 cultivars (Lasta and Saihua growth habit) were sown in 6 depth (0, 5, 10, 25, 35 and 50 mm) in a sandy loam at two temperatures (5 and 15 °C). Temperature had significantly effect on the germination percentages of the plants (P < 0.001). Seeds germinated at the lowest temperature (3 °C). The estimated base temperature was close to 0 °C. A polynomial function described well the relation between time to 50% germination (t₅₀) and temperature in the interval from 3 to 24 °C resulting in a linear relationship between germination rate and temperature. Shallow sowing depth (5–25 mm) resulted in 80% germination at 15 °C. There were significant differences of emergence in relationship to burial depth (P < 0.001). Only few seedlings emerged when seeds were sown at 50 mm depth. We did not find significant differences in emergence of seedlings between Lasta and Saihua at 15 °C. Nevertheless, at 5 °C, seedlings of cañahua belonging to the Lasta growth habit form did have higher germination rate as were shown for the Kullaca cultivar and the Umacutama landrace. This may be attributed to larger seed size of these cultivars.     

Yield potential and drought tolerance of segregating populations of barley in contrasting environments

Summary Using the traditional approach (selection for grain yield) it has been found that F₃ families derived from F₂'s selected under unfavourable conditions were more vigorous in the early stages of growth, taller, earlier in heading and with larger yields than F₃ families derived from F₂'s selected under favourable conditions. A high and negative correlation coefficient was found between the drought susceptibility index and grain yield at the driest site, whereas at the wettest site the correlation coefficients were lower and in some cases positive, indicating the existence of traits which are desirable under drought and undesirable under favourable conditions, or vice versa.Expected responses to selection for grain yield using different selection criteria indicated that selection under stress conditions is expected to be more efficient than selection under favourable conditions when dry areas is the target environment.Expected responses to selection for grain yield using different selection criteria indicated that selection under stress conditions is expected to be more efficient than selection under favourable conditions when dry areas is the target environment.Part of this work was supported by Opec Fund for International Development.     

Crop breeding for salt tolerance in the era of molecular markers and marker‐assisted selection

Crop salt tolerance (ST) is a complex trait affected by numerous genetic and non‐genetic factors, and its improvement via conventional breeding has been slow. Recent advancements in biotechnology have led to the development of more efficient selection tools to substitute phenotype‐based selection systems. Molecular markers associated with genes or quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting important traits are identified, which could be used as indirect selection criteria to improve breeding efficiency via marker‐assisted selection (MAS). While the use of MAS for manipulating simple traits has been streamlined in many plant breeding programmes, MAS for improving complex traits seems to be at infancy stage. Numerous QTLs have been reported for ST in different crop species; however, few commercial cultivars or breeding lines with improved ST have been developed via MAS. We review genes and QTLs identified with positive effects on ST in different plant species and discuss the prospects for developing crop ST via MAS. With the current advances in marker technology and a better handling of genotype by environment interaction effects, the utility of MAS for breeding for ST will gain momentum.     

The potential of selection and breeding for improved salt tolerance in lucerne (Medicago sativa L.)

Summary Four cultivars of Medicago sativa L. were subjected to selection for improved salt tolerance using a salinized solution culture technique at 250 mM NaCl. Selections were made after two weeks growth, based upon seedling shoot length differences. High (shoot lengths 14–31 mm) and low (7–12 mm) selection lines were established. Unselected shoot lengths ranged from 0–11 mm. Selection intensities ranged from 0.17% to 0.22% for the high selection lines, and from 0.30% to 1.05% for the low selection lines.Eleven selected plants from cv. CUF 101, and 10 from Local Syria were grown on and polycrossed. A sample of progeny seed from each was grown at 8 NaCl concentrations in solution cultures. Selected line seedlings produced shoots at 225, 250, 260, and 275 mM NaCl, whereas unselected material failed to grow above 225 mM NaCl. A second cycle of selection at 280 mM NaCl with these two cultivars achieved selection intensities of 0.21% and 0.45% for high and low selection lines, respectively. Selected lines grew and produced shoots at 300 mM NaCl.Seedlings derived from 1st and 2nd selection cycles and unselected control material were grown for 6 weeks at 0, 150, 175, and 200 mM NaCl in a sand culture experiment. The high selection line produced significantly greater shoot fresh weight, dry weight, and % live shoot weight than the unselected control material. Clearly selection as practised here can isolate individual seedlings having enhanced genetically based tolerance to NaCl, which is manifest in mature plants derived from polycrossing those selected individuals.     

Uncover the salt tolerance potential of accessions based on photosynthetic attributes and interaction plot in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

Soil salinity, being world's gravest and increasing environmental threat, limits the growth and development in nearly all crop plants. The experiment was laid out to investigate the tomato local and exotic germplasm for morpho‐physiological and photosynthetic attributes under salinity stress (0 (control), 8 and 12 dS m^?1). The phenotype data for morpho‐physiological traits were collected; meanwhile, photosynthetic pigments were analysed also at seedling stage. Analysis of variance, interaction plot, PCV and GCV revealed significantly greater diversity among all accessions for subjecting attributes. Strikingly, principle component analysis (PCA) biplot and cluster heatmap exposed potentially salt tolerant accessions (NAQEEB, BL1076, PBLA1401, 017859, TINY TIM, BL1174, BL1078, PBLA1932, TOMMY TOE, PAKIT and CLN2413) under the highest level of salinity for β‐carotene, lycopene contents, chlorophyll b, carotenoids, pheophytin (b) and total pheophytin. The overall performance of the above‐mentioned accessions was found significant and exhibits tolerant attitude under high salt levels. We suggest that these tolerant accessions might facilitate as a potential source for further breeding programme to improve the agronomically important traits by exploiting both conventional as well as molecular breeding efforts.     

长期配方施肥对作物产量和土壤养分含量的影响

为合理优化施肥结构,制定科学的作物肥料配方,提高耕地地力水平,实现耕地资源可持续利用。2006—2013 年笔者通过对山东省临沂市河东区4 种土壤进行长期定位配方施肥,研究了配方施肥对作物产量及土壤养分含量的影响。结果显示：各处理配方施肥处理作物平均产量明显高于习惯施肥。2013 年配方施肥处理和习惯施肥处理土壤碱解氮含量、土壤速效钾含量均比2006 年增加,其中习惯施肥处理土壤碱解氮含量增幅较配方施肥处理大,而配方施肥处理土壤速效钾含量增幅较习惯施肥处理大;2006—2010 年配方施肥处理土壤有效磷变化不明显,2010 年后土壤有效磷呈下降趋势;2006—2013 习惯施肥处理土壤有效磷含量相对较稳定。配方施肥通过合理调整氮、磷、钾肥的比例和用量,大幅减少了肥料投入,显著提高了作物产量,有效促进了土壤养分均衡。     

沼液叶面喷施对设施甜瓜产量和植株生理的影响

为研究不同沼液浓度叶面喷施对设施甜瓜产量和植株生理的影响,以设施栽培条件下‘西州密17号’甜瓜为试材,采用不同浓度沼液进行叶面喷施研究。试验结果表明,沼液浓度对甜瓜单瓜重、叶片中叶绿素、可溶性蛋白、可溶性糖含量均有显著影响,对叶片过氧化物酶(POD)有显著影响,而对过氧化氢酶(CAT)和超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)无显著影响。单瓜重与叶片营养含量呈正相关关系,而与抗氧化酶活性呈负相关关系。叶面喷施沼液能够有效提高单瓜重,并促进叶片营养的合成;以沼液浓度75%时,单瓜重最大,为2.70 kg。随着沼液喷施浓度的增加,甜瓜叶片中POD、SOD活性呈下降趋势,CAT活性变化无明显规律。综合来看,沼液喷施通过提升叶片营养含量、降低叶片抗氧化酶活性达到增产目的,且以喷施浓度75%较为适宜。     

Effect of Different Preceding Crops and Crop Rotations on Yield of Winter Oil-seed Rape (Brassica napus L.)

To determine the effect of different preceding crops and crop rotations on the grain yield of oil-seed rape, a long-term rotation experiment was conducted at the Hohenschulen experimental station in Kiel, NW Germany. Additional factors included the nitrogen fertilization and the fungicide application. The results reported herein are based upon the harvest years 1988 to 1993. Averaged over the different rotations and husbandry treatments, the grain yields in the 6 experimental years varied between 2.71 t ha^?1 and 3.99 t ha^?1. In contrast, the effect of the different husbandry treatments was smaller and non significant. Averaged over 6 years, only the fungicide application caused small yield increase of 0.2 t ha^?1. The highest grain yields of 3.77 t ha^?1 or 3.65 t ha^?1 occurred when oil-seed rape was directly following peas. Low yields between 3.15 tha^?1 and 3.33 tha^?1 were obtained when oil-seed rape was grown after oilseed rape. The lowest grain yield of 3.13 t ha^?1 was produced with oil-seed rape grown in monoculture only. In rotations with oil-seed rape following a preceding cereal crop (wheat or barley), the grain yields averaged between 3.22 tha^?1 in a two course rotation and up to 3.44 tha^?1 in a four course rotation. In general, the yields of oil-seed rape increase with the length of the rotation and the length of the break between two oilseed rape crops. The yield component number of seeds per m² was affected by the previous cropping accordingly, whereas the thousand seed weight did not respond to the cropping history. Based upon disease assessments in the first years of this experiment, we argue that an increase in the incidence of fungal diseases has considerably contributed to the yield decrease of oil-seed rape in short rotations.     

Leaf,canopy and agronomic water‐use efficiency of field‐grown sugar beet in response to potassium fertilization

Potassium (K) fertilization is important to maintain adequate concentrations of plant available K in agricultural soils to achieve best yields and improve crop stress tolerance and water‐use efficiency (WUE). Water‐use efficiency (WUE) can be expressed on various spatiotemporal scales, and it is known that responses of WUE to external stress are not uniform across scales. Multiscale evaluations of the impact of varying K fertilization on the WUE of C₃ crops under field conditions are missing so far. In the present field study, we evaluated effects of K fertilization on WUE of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) on short‐termed leaf‐ (WUE_Leaf) and canopy‐scales (WUE_Canopy) and as the agronomic ratio of white sugar yield (WSY) to in‐season water use (i.e. WUE_WSY). In K‐fertilized plots, WUE_WSY was enhanced by 15.9%. This effect is attributed to increased beet yield and WSY, as no differences in total in‐season water use between fertilized and unfertilized plots were observed. Potassium (K) fertilization significantly enhanced the leaf area index, resulting in a more efficient depletion of soil moisture by roots in K‐fertilized plots. As a consequence, WUE_Leaf was increased due to stomatal adjustment. Potassium (K) improved WUE_Canopy only by tendency. It is concluded that K fertilization improves the WUE of field‐grown sugar beet across scales, but processes that regulate WUE are highly scale dependent.     

Effects of Salinity and Soil–Drying on Radiation Use Efficiency,Water Productivity and Yield of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.)

Drought and salinity reduce crop productivity especially in arid and semi‐arid regions, and finding a crop which produces yield under these adverse conditions is therefore very important. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is such a crop. Hence, a study was conducted in field lysimeters to investigate the effect of salinity and soil–drying on radiation use efficiency, yield and water productivity of quinoa. Quinoa was exposed to five salinity levels (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 dS m^?1) of irrigation water from flower initiation onwards. During the seed‐filling phase the five salinity levels were divided between two levels of irrigation, either full irrigation (FI; 95 % of field capacity) or non‐irrigated progressive drought (PD). The intercepted photosynthetically active radiation was hardly affected by salinity (8 % decrease at 40 dS m^?1) and did not differ significantly between FI and PD. Radiation use efficiency of dry matter was similar between salinity levels and between FI and PD. In line with this, no negative effect of severe salinity and soil–drying on total dry matter could be detected. Salinity levels between 20 and 40 dS m^?1 significantly reduced the seed yield by ca. 33 % compared with 0 dS m^?1 treatment owing to a 15–30 % reduction in seed number per m², whereas the seed yield of PD was 8 % less than FI. Consequently, nitrogen harvested in seed was decreased by salinity although the total N‐uptake was increased. Both salinity and drought increased the water productivity of dry matter. Increasing salinity from 20 to 40 dS m^?1 did not further decrease the seed number per m² and seed yield, which shows that quinoa (cv. Titicaca) acclimated to saline conditions when exposed to salinity levels between 20 and 40 dS m^?1.     

不同施肥对保护地土壤肥力及作物产量的影响

通过连续4年定位试验，研究了不同施肥对保护地土壤肥力及作物产量的影响，试验结果表明：单施有机肥，耕层（0~20cm）土壤有机质、全氮、全磷含量年均分别增加1.032、0.059、0.033，有机肥和化肥配施年均增加0.593、0.031、0.023，单施化肥年均增加0.224、0.012、0.007，同时亚表层土壤（20~40cm）有机质、全氮、全磷的含量也有不同程度的增加；另外，在该项试验条件下，不同施肥对产量的影响差异不显著。     

A novel procedure for raising rice seedlings and its potential application for mass-screening of rice strains for salt tolerance

Summary A soilless culture system is described whereby all the necessary steps of raising rice seedlings, including seeding, surface-sterilization, germination and growing of seedlings, can be conveniently achieved within a small plastic container. The system is especially suited for experiments with massive number of entries and can e.g. be used for screening of rice genotypes for salt tolerance.     

典型区域粮食作物产量、养分效率和经济效益关系实证研究

利用4个省农户生产的实地调研数据,系统分析了中国小麦、玉米、水稻的产量、养分效率和经济效益的现状及三者之间的关系,探讨了实现高产、高效和高收的限制因子。结果表明,目前农户在上述作物生产中,只有较少地块能够实现高产、高效和高经济效益的协调,而多数地块处于低产、低效和低经济效益的状态;随着农户施肥量的增加,作物产量并没有相应提高,两者相关不显著,但化肥利用效率与化肥投入量成显著负相关;随着产量的提高,化肥利用效率和农户的经济效益也显著增加,相关达到极显著水平。因此,在不增加投入的情况下,优化栽培管理技术增加作物产量是目前提高化肥利用效率和实现农民增收的重要途径。     

不同前茬对烤烟生长、产量和质量的影响

以烤烟K326品种为材料,在石林和寻甸两个不同气候生态点通过田间试验研究了一年两熟条件下油菜、小麦、大麦、绿肥和休闲5种前茬对烟株生长及烟叶产量、质量的影响。结果表明,不同前茬明显影响烟株的生长、成熟、产量、产值和评吸质量,且因生态区不同而有差异。前茬为小麦,两个试点烤烟均表现出前期生长较快、后期落黄较好;前茬为绿肥,烤烟前期生长较慢、后期生长过旺、落黄较迟;前茬为绿肥或休闲地,两试点烤后烟叶产量最高;但产值在石林点则以前茬为大麦、绿肥或油菜,寻甸点以前茬为大麦、绿肥或小麦的处理为最好。烟叶评吸质量在石林以油菜或小麦为前茬、寻甸以小麦或绿肥为前茬的处理最佳。综合而言,烟株生长期间气温较高的石林烟区烤烟前茬以油菜为宜,而气候冷凉的寻甸烟区则以小麦或绿肥为最佳前茬。     

节水灌溉对滨海盐渍土棉花生理生化变化和生长发育的影响

在自然条件下,安排了以灌水为主区、盖膜为副区的裂区试验,研究了灌水与盖膜处理对滨海盐渍土水分、盐分含量变化、棉花生理生化和生长发育的影响。结果表明,在不盖膜与盖膜两种条件下,土壤含水量均随灌水量的增加而增加,而土壤含盐量随之降低,由此形成了"土壤脱盐淡化层";棉花生理生化和生长发育均受水、盐胁迫的影响,但灌水量1500m3·hm 2与2250m3·hm 2处理间无显著差异;从节水和高效角度考虑,以地膜覆盖度50%、灌水量1500m3·hm 2处理最佳。     

磷酸二铵施用量及方式对甜菜光合性能和产量的影响

光合作用是产量形成的物质基础,为筛选出最适宜甜菜产量形成的施磷方式及施磷量,优化甜菜施肥管理,设置3种不同施磷方式（播种前全部基施;播种前基施2/3,叶丛快速生长期追施1/3;播种前基施2/3,块根糖分增长期追施1/3）,每种施磷方式下设置5个施磷量（60、90、120、150和180kg/hm²）,研究不同施磷方式及施磷量对甜菜光合生理性能及产量的影响。研究结果表明,相同施磷方式下,随施磷量递增,甜菜的叶面积指数（LAI）、相对叶绿素含量（SPAD值）、净光合速率（P_n）、单株干物质积累量及产量均呈先升高后稳定或降低的变化趋势,当施磷量为150kg/hm²时,各光合指标和产量均达到最大值。相同施磷量条件下,基施2/3、叶丛快速生长期追施1/3磷肥的施磷方式对促进甜菜光合性能和产量形成效果最好。故推荐高产甜菜施磷量为150kg/hm²,分2次施入,播前基施2/3,叶丛快速生长期追施1/3。