Water-use efficiency, photosynthetic characteristics, and high through-put phenotyping methods for soybean (glycine max) genotypes contrasting in carbon isotope discrimination

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Brett Naylor

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Drought is a huge concern for soybean growers across the world, and in the Midwestern US is the main limitation to grain yield. A way to protect against drought stress is for plants to use water more efficiently. Carbon isotope discrimination (CID) is a measured trait that is related to water-use efficiency (WUE), and can be used to screen genotypes for higher WUE. Several genotypes were studied in multiple greenhouse and field experiments with varying drought stress treatments. Genotypes exhibiting less CID were shown to have a higher WUE, and CID was related to WUE. The higher WUE genotypes also exhibited differences in photosynthetic traits, especially in their stomatal behavior to restrict water loss. In terms of grain yield, very few differences were observed between the genotypes. Thermal images to estimate canopy temperature and sap flow sensors to estimate field water use provided excellent insight into differences among watering treatments and genotypes for transpiration rates. This research demonstrates, that in soybean, CID can be used as a screening tool to select for higher WUE, and higher WUE is likely a result of increased stomatal restrictions to prevent water loss during periods of drought stress. However, these genotypes exhibiting less transpiration showed minimal, if any grain yield reduction. Further, whole field imaging can also be utilized to identify higher WUE genotypes, and sap flow sensors can be expected to estimate water use in the field. Both resulting in reduced labor and more efficient time use.

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zsuzsanna Farkas ◽  
Emese Varga-László ◽  
Angéla Anda ◽  
Ottó Veisz ◽  
Balázs Varga

The effects of simulated waterlogging, drought stress and their combination were examined in a model experiment in Martonvásár, Hungary, in 2018. Four modern winter wheat varieties (‘Mv Toborzó’ (TOB), ‘Mv Mambó’ (MAM), ‘Mv Karizma’ (KAR), ‘Mv Pálma’ (PAL)) and one old Hungarian winter wheat cultivar (‘Bánkúti 1201’ (BKT)) were tested. Apart from the control treatment (C), the plants were exposed to two different abiotic stresses. To simulate waterlogging (WL), plants were flooded at four leaf stage, while in the WL + D treatment, they were stressed both by waterlogging and by simulated drought stress at the early stage of plant development and at the heading stage, respectively. The waterlogging treatment resulted in a significant decrease in plant biomass (BKT, TOB), number of spikes (TOB), grain yield (BKT, TOB), water use (BTK) and water-use efficiency (TOB, MAM, PAL) compared to the controls. The combined treatment (WL + D) led to a significant decrease in plant height (BTK, MAM, KAR), number of spikes (BTK, TOB, MAM, KAR), thousand kernel weight (TOB), harvest index (BTK), biomass, grain yield, water-use efficiency (in all varieties) and water use (BKT, TOB, MAM, KAR) of the plants. The best water-use efficiency was observed for MAM; therefore, this genotype could be recommended for cultivation at stress prone areas. The varieties MAM, KAR and PAL also showed good adaptability.


1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 707-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Ehdaie ◽  
J. G. Waines

The Rht1 and Rht2 dwarfing genes have been used extensively to reduce height in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The Rht3 gene is also a potent dwarfing gene. Information in the literature is limited or conflicting as to the comparative effects of these genes on water-use efficiency (WUE) and agronomic performance under different environments. Four near-isogenic lines, rhtrht, Rht1Rht1, Rht2Rht2, and Rht3Rht3 in Maringa and three, rhtrht, Rht2Rht2, and Rht3Rht3 in Nainan 60 bread wheat backgrounds were used to determine the effects of dwarfing genes on plant height, total dry matter (TDM) and its components, evapotranspiration efficiency (ETE, TDM/water evapotranspired), WUE (grain yield/water evapotranspired), and carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) in well-watered and droughted pot experiments in the glasshouse. The near-isogenic lines were also grown in well-watered and droughted field experiments. The dwarfing genes consistently reduced plant height and kernel weight in Maringa and Nainari 60 backgrounds under all environmental conditions. The dwarfing genes significantly increased number of spikes per plant in Nainari 60 background in the glasshouse and number of grains per plant in Maringa background under field conditions. In most cases, TDM or shoot dry matter (SDM) in short isogenic lines was significantly reduced. The reduction in grain yield was less than that of TDM or SDM. Therefore, harvest index was greater in short isogenic lines than their respective tall standard counterparts. The effects of the dwarfing genes on root dry matter were relatively small. The dwarfing genes, on average, depressed ETE by 21% and WUE by 15% only in Maringa background. Plant height was positively correlated with TDM and ETE but negatively so with Δ in glasshouse experiments. Grain yield and TDM were positively correlated with ETE. Δ was negatively associated with ETE, TDM, SDM, and grain yield under glasshouse conditions. Key words: Spring wheat, dwarfing genes, near-isogenic lines, water-use efficiency, carbon isotope discrimination


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Ting Ma ◽  
Guillaume Tcherkez ◽  
Xu Ming Wang ◽  
Rudi Schäufele ◽  
Hans Schnyder ◽  
...  

SummaryThe carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) has been used widely to infer intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) of C3 plants, a key parameter linking carbon and water fluxes. Despite the essential role of mesophyll conductance (gm) in photosynthesis and Δ, its effect on Δ-based predictions of iWUE has generally been neglected.Here, we derive a mathematical expression of iWUE as a function of Δ that includes gm (iWUEmes) and exploits the gm-stomatal conductance (gsc) relationship across drought-stress levels and plant functional groups (deciduous or semi-deciduous woody, evergreen woody and herbaceous species) in a global database. iWUEmes was further validated with an independent dataset of online-Δ and CO2 and H2O gas exchange measurements with seven species.Drought stress reduced gsc by 52% and gm by 45% averaged over all plant functional groups, but had no significant effect on the gsc/gm ratio, suggesting a well-constrained gsc/gm ratio of 0.79±0.07 (95%CI, n=198) across plant functional groups and drought-stress treatments. Due in part to the synchronous behavior of gsc and gm, gm was negatively correlated to iWUE. Incorporating the gsc/gm ratio in the iWUEmes model significantly improved the estimation of iWUE compared to the simple model.The inclusion of gm effects, even using a fixed gsc/gm ratio of 0.79 when gm is unknown, proved desirable to eliminate significant bias in estimating iWUE from Δ across various C3 vegetation types.


2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (11) ◽  
pp. 1337 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ashraf ◽  
M. Arfan ◽  
A. Ahmad

Drought stress is an important limitation to the growth and grain yield of pearl millet in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Potassium iodide, a senescing agent, was used as a screening tool for evaluating drought tolerance of 22 strains of pearl millet at the grain development stage (grain filling) under glasshouse conditions. In order to use potassium iodide as a selection method in breeding programs for improvement of drought tolerance, the technique was compared with some drought evaluating parameters such as water retention capability, osmotic adjustment, photosynthetic capacity and water-use efficiency. Application of a 0.3% solution of potassium iodide at anthesis was very effective in causing drought stress, and hence grain yield reduction, in pearl millet. It showed a significant association with water deficit in growth attributes such as fresh and dry weights of shoots, and grain yield. Osmotic adjustment, water retention capability (decrease in weight of excised leaves during 5-h drying period), photosynthetic rate, and single-leaf water-use efficiency (net CO2 assimilation rate/transpiration) did not show positive relationships with the degree of drought tolerance measured using potassium iodide spray or water-deficit treatment. A large amount of variation in drought tolerance observed in 22 lines of pearl millet can be of considerable practical value. For example, the 3 lines ICMP-83720, ICMV-9413 and ICMV-94472, ranked as highly drought tolerant on the basis of their overall growth and physiological performance, and could be of direct use under mild drought conditions.


Agriculture ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 369
Author(s):  
Muhammad Irfan Ahmad ◽  
Adnan Noor Shah ◽  
Jianqiang Sun ◽  
Youhong Song

Drought stress has been a great challenge for the sustainability of maize (Zea mays L.) production in arid and semi-arid regions. The utilization of drought-tolerant hybrids and proper irrigation regimes represent a management strategy to stabilize maize production under water-limited conditions. A two-year field experiment was conducted to assess the leaf gas exchange, growth, grain yield, and water use efficiency in two cultivars of maize, i.e., Zhengdan 958 (H1) and Zhongdan 909 (H2), under different water regimes, i.e., full irrigation (FI), reproductive irrigation (RI), and rainfed (RF). Plant samples were collected at different growth stages to measure the maize growth and development under the three irrigation regimes. The grain yield in RF was significantly reduced by 30.4% (H1) and 31.1% (H2); and the water use efficiency (WUE) by 8.5% (H1) and 9.3% (H2) compared with FI. On the other hand, irrigation application at the flowering stage was shown to significantly boost the grain yield by 40.3% (H1) and 25.5% (H2); and the WUE by 27.6% (H1) and 14.1% (H2) compared to RF. This indicated that H1 benefited more from irrigation use compared to H2. The improved grain yield through reproductive irrigation was due to the greater soil plant analysis development (SPAD), net photosynthesis, and biomass production when compared to zero irrigation. Zhengdan 958 was shown to be relatively more resistant to drought stress during flowering compared to Zhongdan 909. Thus, to achieve reliable maize production in Huaibei Plain, reproductive irrigation is recommended, combined with Zhengdan 958.


2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming HUANG ◽  
Zhao-Hui WANG ◽  
Lai-Chao LUO ◽  
Sen WANG ◽  
Ming BAO ◽  
...  

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 313
Author(s):  
Guoqiang Zhang ◽  
Bo Ming ◽  
Dongping Shen ◽  
Ruizhi Xie ◽  
Peng Hou ◽  
...  

Achieving optimal balance between maize yield and water use efficiency is an important challenge for irrigation maize production in arid areas. In this study, we conducted an experiment in Xinjiang China in 2016 and 2017 to quantify the response of maize yield and water use to plant density and irrigation schedules. The treatments included four irrigation levels: 360 (W1), 480 (W2), 600 (W3), and 720 mm (W4), and five plant densities: 7.5 (D1), 9.0 (D2), 10.5 (D3), 12.0 (D4), and 13.5 plants m−2 (D5). The results showed that increasing the plant density and the irrigation level could both significantly increase the leaf area index (LAI). However, LAI expansion significantly increased evapotranspiration (ETa) under irrigation. The combination of irrigation level 600 mm (W3) and plant density 12.0 plants m−2 (D4) produced the highest maize yield (21.0–21.2 t ha−1), ETa (784.1–797.8 mm), and water use efficiency (WUE) (2.64–2.70 kg m−3), with an LAI of 8.5–8.7 at the silking stage. The relationship between LAI and grain yield and evapotranspiration were quantified, and, based on this, the relationship between water use and maize productivity was analyzed. Moreover, the optimal LAI was established to determine the reasonable irrigation level and coordinate the relationship between the increase in grain yield and the decrease in water use efficiency.


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