Inheritance and potentials of a mutated dwarfing gene ndf1 in Brassica napus

A dwarf mutant ‘NDF‐1′, approximately 70 cm high, was derived from a 200‐cm high doubled haploid (DH) line ‘3529’ (Brassica napus), seeds of which were jointly treated with chemical inducers and bombardment of fast neutron. The leaves of the ‘NDF‐1’ mutant were wrinkled and thicker compared with the wild‐type control. The mutant had much lower values than its original parents for all agronomic traits, except for its seed weight. A genetic analysis revealed that dwarfism is under the control of a major gene (designated as ndf1) with a mainly additive effect and non‐significant dominance effect. Because of the high level of resistance to lodging, breeding programmes for double low dwarf oilseed rape and heterosis utilization were initiated. Some new dwarf strains with improved agronomic performance were developed. The hybrid of the cross between the tall parent and the dwarf line showed increased harvest index and significantly higher seed yield than the tall parent or the control variety ‘Zhongyou 821’ and presented an estimated heterosis vigour rate as high as 12.5–25.8%. The dwarf trait will be a promising marker for a simple, economic and efficient way to control the purity of F₁ hybrid varieties in hybrid production of B. napus.     

Sheath-blight resistance QTLS in japonica rice germplasm

Sheath blight (SB), caused by Rhizoctonia solani, is a serious disease of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) for which genetic resistance is in demand by breeders. With the goal of resistance (SBR)-QTL discovery in U. S. japonica breeding material, 197 doubled-haploid lines from a cross between MCR10277 (resistant) and Cocodrie (susceptible) were evaluated in field and greenhouse assays with U. S. and Colombian pathogen isolates and genotyped at 111 microsatellite marker loci. Four SBR QTLs from MCR10277 were identified, together accounting for 47% of field genetic variation. In all trials the strongest effect was provided by a chromosome-9 QTL, qsbr_9.1, but some QTLs differed for U. S. and Colombian R. solani isolates. SBR QTLs coincided with only two of several height or heading-time QTLs, suggesting that the relationship between these developmental traits and SBR is not simple. For the U. S. isolates, a microchamber greenhouse assay revealed the same QTLs as did field inoculation.     

The effect of metabolic stress disinfection and disinfestation (MSDD) on ‘Hass’ avocado fruit physiology and mortality of longtailed mealybug (Pseudococcus longispinus)

Metabolic stress disinfection and disinfestation (MSDD) is a potential quarantine treatment in which a combination of cycles of rapid decompression and compression are followed by exposure to ethanol vapour under decompression. The response of ‘Hass’ avocado (Persea americana Mill., cv. Hass) to MSDD treatment for control of longtailed mealybug (Pseudococcus longispinus) was investigated. The best treatment for the most resistant life stage (2nd/3rd instars) was 90-min MSDD treatment with 371 mg L⁻¹ ethanol. Early and late season ‘Hass’ avocados were subjected to MSDD treatments (with 371 mg L⁻¹ ethanol), or in air (control). Following the treatments, early season fruit were ripened at 20 °C and 25 °C. Half of the late season fruit were ripened at either 20 °C or 25 °C, and the remainder were stored at 5.5 °C for 6 weeks, then ripened at 20 °C. There were no significant difference in quality and rot incidence between non-treated controls and MSDD-treated fruit. The main disorders found were stem-end and body rots, vascular browning and flesh greying for the stored fruit. There were also no significant differences in fruit respiration rate or ethylene production. Thus, MSDD was shown to be a potentially ‘soft’ disinfestation treatment for surface pests of avocado.     

GGE biplot analysis to evaluate genotype, environment and their interactions in sorghum multi-location data

Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is a very important crop in the arid and semi-arid tropics of India and African subcontinent. In the process of release of new cultivars using multi-location data major emphasis is being given on the superiority of the new cultivars over the ruling cultivars, while very less importance is being given on the genotype?×?environment interaction (GEI). In the present study, performance of ten Indian hybrids over 12 locations across the rainy seasons of 2008 and 2009 was investigated using GGE biplot analysis. Location attributed higher proportion of the variation in the data (59.3–89.9%), while genotype contributed only 3.9–16.8% of total variation. Genotype?×?location interaction contributed 5.8–25.7% of total variation. We could identify superior hybrids for grain yield, fodder yield and for harvest index using biplot graphical approach effectively. Majority of the testing locations were highly correlated. ‘Which-won-where’ study partitioned the testing locations into three mega-environments: first with eight locations with SPH 1606/1609 as the winning genotypes; second mega-environment encompassed three locations with SPH 1596 as the winning genotype, and last mega-environment represented by only one location with SPH 1603 as the winning genotype. This clearly indicates that though the testing is being conducted in many locations, similar conclusions can be drawn from one or two representatives of each mega-environment. We did not observe any correlation of these mega-environments to their geographical locations. Existence of extensive crossover GEI clearly suggests that efforts are necessary to identify location-specific genotypes over multi-year and -location data for release of hybrids and varieties rather focusing on overall performance of the entries.     

Old and New Cultivars of Soya Bean (Glycine max L.) Subjected to Soil Drying Differ in Abscisic Acid Accumulation,Water Relations Characteristics and Yield

Two old (Huangsedadou and Longxixiaohuangpi (LX)) and two new (Jindou 19 (JD) and Zhonghuang 30 (ZH)) soya bean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) cultivars were used to investigate the influence of soil drying on the abscisic acid (ABA) accumulation in leaves, stomatal conductance (g_s), leaf water relations, osmotic adjustment (OA), leaf desiccation tolerance, yield and yield components. The greater ABA accumulation was induced by soil drying, which also inducing g_s decreased at higher soil water contents (SWC) and leaf relative water content (RWC) significantly decreased at lower SWC in the new soya bean cultivars than in the old soya bean cultivars. The soil water threshold between the value at which stomata began to close and the RWC began to decrease was significantly broader in the new cultivars than in the old cultivars. The new cultivars had significantly higher OA and lower lethal leaf water potential than old cultivars when the soil dried. The old cultivars had greater biomass, but lower grain yield than the new cultivars in well‐watered, moderate stress and severe stress conditions. Thus with soil drying, the new soya bean cultivars demonstrated greater adaptation to drought by inducing greater ABA accumulation, stomatal closure at higher SWC, enhanced OA and better water relations, associated with increased leaf desiccation tolerance, greater water use efficiency and higher yield.     

Chilling Stress Accelerates Degradation of Seed Storage Protein and Photosynthetic Protein during Cotton Seed Germination

Low temperature is one of the major abiotic stresses limiting the productivity and geographical distribution of many important crops. To gain a better understanding of chilling stress responses in cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L . ), we carried out a comparative proteomic analysis. Cotyledon proteins of 1-week-old cotton seedlings treated with or without chilling treatment at 4 °C were extracted, separated by a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and compared. Among 1500 protein spots reproducibly detected on each gel, 25 protein spots were down-regulated and 29 were up-regulated. Seven cotton proteins were identified by mass spectrometry analysis as beta-globulin A precursor fragments. One was identified as a Rubisco large subunit fragment, providing evidence of both seed storage protein and photosynthetic protein destruction by chilling stress. The related physiological and biochemical analysis showed that there was a significant increase in endopeptidase activity and activated oxygen generation rate, and an obvious decrease in carboxylation efficiency and maximum net photosynthetic rate of cotton seedlings under chilling stress. Based on the above results, the degradation mechanisms of beta-globulin and Rubisco under chilling stress were discussed. In conclusion, our study provides new insights into chilling-stress responses in cotton and demonstrates the advantages of proteomic analysis.     

Evaluation of Cold Tolerance in NERICAs Compared with Japanese Standard Rice Varieties at the Reproductive Stage

New Rice for Africa (NERICA) is a general name for interspecific rice varieties derived from a cross between the high‐yielding Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.) between locally adapted African rice (Oryza glaberrima Steud.). Eight NERICAs were evaluated for cold tolerance (CT) at the reproductive stage and compared with their O. sativa parents and three Japanese standard rice varieties over 3 years. Cold tolerance was evaluated based on the filled grain ratio (FGR) after cold water irrigation. The FGR was greatly reduced by cold water irrigation. NERICA 1, 2 and 7 had higher FGR (51.9–57.9 %), while NERICA 6, 15 and 16 had lower FGR (6.2–14.5 %). NERICA 1, 2 and 7 were less affected by cold stress, with a 31 % mean reduction in FGR, while NERICA 6, 15 and 16 were greatly affected, with their FGRs being reduced by more than 80 %. NERICA 3 and 4 were moderately affected by cold stress, with about 45 % reduction rate in FGR. FGR significantly influenced the grain weights of the varieties with strong positive correlations (r = 0.83–0.91; P < 0.001), and thus, similar trends in grain weights were observed. Grain weights were reduced by 61.7–96.4 % under cold stress. NERICA 1, 2 and 7 showed significantly better performance than NERICA 3 and 4, while NERICA 6, 15 and 16 performed poorly under cold water irrigation. The Japanese varieties Koshihikari (very tolerant) and Ozora (moderately tolerant) were more affected by cold water irrigation than NERICA 1, 2 and 7. On the basis of the mean reduction rate (%) in FGR under cold stress, the varieties were classified as follows: NERICA 1, 2 and 7 as tolerant; NERICA 3 and 4 as moderately tolerant; and NERICA 6, 15 and 16 as susceptible to cold stress. However, NERICA 7 grain yields were lower under cold stress due to both greatly reduced number of panicles per plant and number of spikelets per panicle. Therefore, NERICA 1 and 2 are suitable candidates for production in the highland regions of East Africa and should be promoted for production.     

The Optimization for Crop Planning and Some Advances for Water-Saving Crop Planning in the Semiarid Loess Plateau of China

The establishment of water-saving crop planning is an inevitable choice of the water-saving agriculture for the water-deficiency region in the arid and semiarid Loess Plateau of China and the world. The water-saving crop planning refers to the planting structure that centres the adjustment of the crop's adaptation to water, the optimization of temporal and spatial layout for crops, the local natural resources, marketing resources, human resources and financial input to enable region or basin with limited water resources to achieve the maximum economic, social and ecological benefits of planting industry under certain technology and economy. After the analysis on the research progress of optimization theory, optimization goals, optimization methods of water-saving cultivation structure and macro-control measures, it is pointed out that the main deficiencies of the current research of water-saving cultivation pattern optimization are lacking of a strong theoretical basis, and the immaturity of optimization technologies. The future crucial research direction will focus on five aspects such as the special optimization theory system, the division methods by studying the watershed unit and using 3S technology, optimization model based on multi-objective evolutionary algorithm, evaluation of rationality and macro-control measures on the basis of the public participation.