scholarly journals Evolutionary and ecological perspectives on the wheat phenotype

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1958) ◽  
pp. 20211259
Author(s):  
Victor O. Sadras

Technologies, from molecular genetics to precision agriculture, are outpacing theory, which is becoming a bottleneck for crop improvement. Here, we outline theoretical insights on the wheat phenotype from the perspective of three evolutionary and ecologically important relations—mother–offspring, plant–insect and plant–plant. The correlation between yield and grain number has been misinterpreted as cause-and-effect; an evolutionary perspective shows a striking similarity between crop and fishes. Both respond to environmental variation through offspring number; seed and egg size are conserved. The offspring of annual plants and semelparous fishes, lacking parental care, are subject to mother–offspring conflict and stabilizing selection. Labile reserve carbohydrates do not fit the current model of wheat yield; they can stabilize grain size, but involve trade-offs with root growth and grain number, and are at best neutral for yield. Shifting the focus from the carbon balance to an ecological role, we suggest that labile carbohydrates may disrupt aphid osmoregulation, and thus contribute to wheat agronomic adaptation. The tight association between high yield and low competitive ability justifies the view of crop yield as a population attribute whereby the behaviour of the plant becomes subordinated within that of the population, with implications for genotyping, phenotyping and plant breeding.

2017 ◽  
Vol 87 ◽  
pp. 40-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph P. Lynch ◽  
Deirdre Doyle ◽  
Shauna McAuley ◽  
Fiona McHardy ◽  
Quentin Danneels ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priyanka A. Basavaraddi ◽  
Roxana Savin ◽  
Sivakumar Sukumaran ◽  
Matthew P. Reynolds ◽  
Simon Griffiths ◽  
...  

AbstractFuture grain yield (GY) improvements require the identification of beneficial traits within the context of high yield potential and not just based on the pleiotropic effect of traits such as crop height and heading date. We evaluated 1937 lines from Nested Association Mapping (NAM) population derived from 13 bi-parental varietal crosses under field conditions. We selected 493 lines with similar time to anthesis to that of the two checks used in the study (across and within each family) which reduced the range of plant height in the selected lines. Yield components were measured in these 493 lines from which 231 lines were selected by excluding lines with lowest number of grains so excluded low yielding lines. Later the subset of 231 lines were evaluated in two field experiments (2016-17, CS1 and 2017-18, CS2). Numerical and physiological components of grain yield were measured. The two-step selection maximised GY within an acceptable range of variation for height and anthesis. GY in 231 lines showed very high G×E interaction. Taking both seasons together, we selected lines from upper and lower quartile GY groups to identify stable beneficial trait combinations for improved GY. Differences in GY were explained by grain number driven by increased spike dry weight at anthesis (SDWa) and fruiting efficiency (FE). Increased GY was accompanied by sink limitation. The data points towards increases in grain number as the route towards future GY increases in wheat breeding.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1054
Author(s):  
Bo Li ◽  
Xinyu Chen ◽  
Xiaoxu Shi ◽  
Jian Liu ◽  
Yafeng Wei ◽  
...  

Ridge tillage is an effective agronomic practice and a miniature precision agriculture; however, its effects on the growth of faba beans (Vicia faba L.) are poorly understood. This study aimed to determine the effect of ridge tillage and straw mulching on the root growth, nutrient accumulation and yield of faba beans. Field experiments were conducted during 2016 and 2017 cropping seasons and comprised four treatments: ridge tillage without any mulching (RT), flat tillage without any mulch (FT), flat tillage with rice straw mulched on the ridge tillage (FTRSM) and ridge tillage with rice straw mulched on the ridge tillage (RTRSM). The RT and RTRSM increased soil temperature and decreased soil humidity and improved soil total nitrogen, total phosphorus, available potassium and organic matter. RT and RTRSM increased the root length density, root surface area, root diameter and root activity of faba beans at flowering and harvest periods. The RT and RTRSM also increased the nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium absorption and the yield of faba beans. These results indicated that ridge tillage and straw mulching affect faba bean growth by improving soil moisture conditions and providing good air permeability and effective soil nutrition supply. This study provides a theoretical basis for the high yield cultivation improvement of faba beans.


2016 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minuka M. Weerasinghe ◽  
Peter S. Kettlewell ◽  
Ivan G. Grove ◽  
Martin C. Hare

Application of film antitranspirant to wheat during late stem extension reduces drought damage to yield, but the mechanism is unknown. Field experiments under rain shelters were conducted over 3 years to test the hypothesis that film antitranspirant applied before meiosis alleviates drought-induced losses of pollen viability, grain number and yield. The film antitranspirant di-1-p-menthene was applied at third-node stage, and meiosis occurred at the early boot stage, with a range of 11–16 days after spray application in different years. Irrigated, unsprayed plots were included under the rain-shelters, and pollen viability, measured in 2 years in these plots, averaged 95.3%. Drought reduced pollen viability to 80.1% in unirrigated, unsprayed plots, but only to 88.6% in unirrigated plots treated with film antitranspirant. Grain number and yield of irrigated plots, measured in all years, were 16 529 m–2 and 9.55 t ha–1, respectively, on average. These were reduced by drought to 11 410 m–2 and 6.31 t ha–1 in unirrigated, unsprayed plots, but only to 12 878 m–2 and 6.97 t ha–1 in unirrigated plots treated with film antitranspirant. Thus compared with unirrigated, unsprayed plots, antitranspirant gave a grain yield benefit of 0.66 t ha–1. Further work is needed to validate the pollen viability mechanism in different climatic zones and with a wide range of cultivars.


1977 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 165 ◽  
Author(s):  
RA Fischer ◽  
I Aguilar ◽  
DR Laing

Experiments to study the effect of grain number per sq metre on kernel weight and grain yield in a high-yielding dwarf spring wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. Yecora 70) were conducted in three seasons (1971–1973) under high-fertility irrigated conditions in north-western Mexico. Crop thinning, shading and carbon dioxide fertilization (reported elsewhere), and crowding treatments, all carried out at or before anthesis, led to a wide range in grain numbers (4000 to 34,000/m2). Results indicated the response of grain yield to changing sink size (grains per sq metre), with the post-anthesis environment identical for all crops each year, and with all but the thinner crops intercepting most of the post-anthesis solar radiation. Kernel weight fell linearly with increase in grain number over the whole range of grain numbers studied, but the rate of fall varied with the season. Grain yield, however, increased, reaching a maximum at grain numbers well above those of crops grown with optimal agronomic management but without manipulation. It was concluded that the grain yield in normal crops was limited by both sink and post-anthesis source. There was some doubt, however, as to the interpretation of results from crowded crops, because of likely artificial increases in crop respiration on the one hand, and on the other, in labile carbohydrate reserves in the crops at anthesis. Also deterioration in grain plumpness (hectolitre weight) complicates the simple inference that further gains in yield can come from increased grain numbers alone.


Author(s):  
Rakesh Murthy ◽  
Aditya N. Das ◽  
Dan O. Popa

Heterogeneous assembly at the microscale has recently emerged as a viable pathway to constructing 3-dimensional microrobots and other miniaturized devices. In contrast to self-assembly, this method is directed and deterministic, and is based on serial or parallel microassembly. Whereas at the meso and macro scales, automation is often undertaken after, and often benchmarked against manual assembly, we demonstrate that deterministic automation at the MEMS scale can be completed with higher yields through the use of engineered compliance and precision robotic cells. Snap fasteners have long been used as a way to exploit the inherent stability of local minima of the deformation energy caused by interference during part mating. In this paper we assume that the building blocks are 2 1/2 -dimensional, as is the case with lithographically microfabricated MEMS parts. The assembly of the snap fasteners is done using μ3, a multi-robot microassembly station with unique characteristics located at our ARRI’s Texas Microfactory lab. Experiments are performed to demonstrate that fast and reliable assemblies can be expected if the microparts and the robotic cell satisfy a so-called “High Yield Assembly Condition” (H.Y.A.C.). Important design trade-offs for assembly and performance of microsnap fasteners are discussed and experimentally evaluated.


2018 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Alidad Karami ◽  
Sadegh Afzalinia

Aims: Determining effects of spatial variation of some soil properties on wheat quantity and quality variation in order that proper soil and inputs management can be applied for sustainable wheat production. Study Design: Analyzing data of a field with center pivot irrigation system and uniform management using the geostatistical method. Place and Duration of Study: Soil and Water Research Department, Fars Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Darab, Iran, from September 2013 to February 2014. Methodology: Wheat yield data harvested by class lexion 510 combine from 25 m2 plots (11340 locations) with the corresponding geographical location were used. Besides, soil properties and wheat yield were measured at 36 randomly selected points on the field. Interpolation of parameters was predicted with the best semi-variogram model using kriging, inverse distance weighted (IDW), and cokriging methods. Results: Results showed that wheat yield varied from 2 to 10.08 tons per hectare. Cokriging with cofactor of kernel weight interpolator had more accuracy compared to the combine default interpolator (kriging). A logical, linear correlation was found between different parameters. The best variogram model for pH, OC, and ρb was exponential, for EC, TNV, SP, soil silt and clay percentage was spherical, and for soil, percentage sand was Gaussian model. Data of soil sand, silt, and clay percentage, EC, TNV, and SP had strong spatial structure, and soil pH, OC, and ρb had moderate spatial structure. The best interpolation method for soil pH, EC, sand and silt percentage was kriging method; while, for TNV, SP, OC, ρb, and clay percentage was IDW. Conclusion: There was a close relationship between wheat yield variation and changes in the soil properties. Soil properties and wheat yield distribution maps provided valuable information which could be used for wheat yield improvement in precision agriculture.


2021 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 02012
Author(s):  
Aleksey Suslov ◽  
Dimitry Sviridenk ◽  
Vasiliy Mamayev ◽  
Irina Sychiova

It has been shown that pre-sowing treatment increases field germination by 5.5%, and the preservation of plants after overwintering increases by 4.3%. Gumiton strengthened the work of the assimilation apparatus of the flag leaf due to an increase in leaf area by 29.3-49.1% and extended the life of plants. As a part of a tank mixture (Tabu Super, 1.5 l / t + Tertia, 2.5 l t), the drug allowed to reduce the prevalence of the root rot disease to 2.45-1.05% in comparison with the control. The organomineral complex provided the formation of a larger and more leveled grain with a mass of 1000 grains of 47.0-47.5 g, 43.9 g in the control; the grain nature is more than 780 g / dm 3, 751.7 g / dm 3, in the control. The use of Gumiton (seeds + tillering + piping) against the background of N 96 P 96 K 96 provided a high yield increase by 37.8%. To reduce the expenses of foliar fertilization with nitrogen fertilizers, the Gumiton organic-mineral complex should be recommended, since it is an element of greening in intensive technologies of winter wheat cultivation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juozas Pekarskas ◽  
Algirdas Gavenauskas ◽  
Anželika Dautartė

The research of the biological preparation Fertenat effect on spring wheat was investigated at the Experimental Station of Aleksandras Stulginskis University in Calc(ar)i-Epihypogleyic Luvisol (LVG-pw-cc) during 2013–2014. Spring wheat was grown according to the requirements of the National Agricultural Products Quality System. Biological preparation Fertenat had a significant effect on the elements of spring wheat yield structure and the values of chemical composition parameters, influenced by the rates of biological preparation and meteorological conditions. A strong correlation was found between the Fertenat rates and spring wheat plant stem and ear length, grain number per ear, total and productive stem number of one plant and 1 000 grain and hectolitre weight. The correlation between the biological preparation rates and protein, wet and dry gluten was strong as well. A strong correlation between the biological preparation rates and starch amount in grain was found in 2013, while in 2014 this correlation was moderate. The application of biological preparation Fertenat increased the spring wheat yield by 0.05–0.30 t ha–1 or by 2.29–13.76 percent units and by 0.02–0.41 t ha–1 or 0.40–8.23 percent units. The application of 6 l ha–1 and higher Fertenat rates significantly increased the spring wheat yield. Small 1–3 l ha–1 rates are inefficient. The correlation between the Fertenat rates and grain productivity was strong.


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