scholarly journals Assessing the Potential of Extra-Early Maturing Landraces for Improving Tolerance to Drought, Heat, and Both Combined Stresses in Maize

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Nelimor ◽  
Baffour Badu-Apraku ◽  
Antonia Yarney Tetteh ◽  
Ana Luísa Garcia-Oliveira ◽  
Assanvo Simon-Pierre N’guetta

Maize landrace accessions constitute an invaluable gene pool of unexplored alleles that can be harnessed to mitigate the challenges of the narrowing genetic base, declined genetic gains, and reduced resilience to abiotic stress in modern varieties developed from repeated recycling of few superior breeding lines. The objective of this study was to identify extra-early maize landraces that express tolerance to drought and/or heat stress and maintain high grain yield (GY) with other desirable agronomic/morpho-physiological traits. Field experiments were carried out over two years on 66 extra-early maturing maize landraces and six drought and/or heat-tolerant populations under drought stress (DS), heat stress (HS), combined both stresses (DSHS), and non-stress (NS) conditions as a control. Wide variations were observed across the accessions for measured traits under each stress, demonstrating the existence of substantial natural variation for tolerance to the abiotic stresses in the maize accessions. Performance under DS was predictive of yield potential under DSHS, but tolerance to HS was independent of tolerance to DS and DSHS. The accessions displayed greater tolerance to HS (23% yield loss) relative to DS (49% yield loss) and DSHS (yield loss = 58%). Accessions TZm-1162, TZm-1167, TZm-1472, and TZm-1508 showed particularly good adaptation to the three stresses. These landrace accessions should be further explored to identify the genes underlying their high tolerance and they could be exploited in maize breeding as a resource for broadening the genetic base and increasing the abiotic stress resilience of elite maize varieties.

Plants ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelimor ◽  
Badu-Apraku ◽  
Tetteh ◽  
N’guetta

Climate change is expected to aggravate the effects of drought, heat and combined drought and heat stresses. An important step in developing ‘climate smart’ maize varieties is to identify germplasm with good levels of tolerance to the abiotic stresses. The primary objective of this study was to identify landraces with combined high yield potential and desirable secondary traits under drought, heat and combined drought and heat stresses. Thirty-three landraces from Burkina Faso (6), Ghana (6) and Togo (21), and three drought-tolerant populations/varieties from the Maize Improvement Program at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture were evaluated under three conditions, namely managed drought stress, heat stress and combined drought and heat stress, with optimal growing conditions as control, for two years. The phenotypic and genetic correlations between grain yield of the different treatments were very weak, suggesting the presence of independent genetic control of yield to these stresses. However, grain yield under heat and combined drought and heat stresses were highly and positively correlated, indicating that heat-tolerant genotypes would most likely tolerate combined drought and stress. Yield reduction averaged 46% under managed drought stress, 55% under heat stress, and 66% under combined drought and heat stress, which reflected hypo-additive effect of drought and heat stress on grain yield of the maize accessions. Accession GH-3505 was highly tolerant to drought, while GH-4859 and TZm-1353 were tolerant to the three stresses. These landrace accessions can be invaluable sources of genes/alleles for breeding for adaptation of maize to climate change.


2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (03) ◽  
pp. 205-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abebe Menkir ◽  
Baffour Badu-Apraku ◽  
Sam Ajala ◽  
Alpha Kamara ◽  
Abdou Ndiaye

In drought-affected maize production zones with short growing periods, the development and use of early maturing drought-tolerant cultivars can stabilize maize production. We evaluated 10 improved and 25 farmers' early maturing maize varieties under moisture deficit and well-watered conditions for 2 years to identify suitable genetic materials for breeding drought-tolerant cultivars. The varieties exhibited significant differences in grain yield and other traits under both moisture deficit and well-watered conditions. Changes in the rank order of the varieties for grain yield was not significant across the different levels of moisture supply in this study. Grain yield was significantly correlated with days to anthesis, days to silking, plant height, ear height, ear number and anthesis–silking interval (ASI) under the two irrigation treatments and with leaf death scores under moisture deficit, suggesting that the common traits were beneficial in maximizing grain yield under both sufficient water supply and moisture deficit. Grain yield and the traits significantly correlated with it differentiated the early maturing maize varieties into two distinct groups under well-watered condition and moisture deficit. The improved varieties were superior to the farmers' varieties in grain yield and other traits under moisture deficit, possibly due to selection of their progenitors for improved performance in multiple locations. We found some farmers' and improved varieties with similar yield potential and flowering time under well-watered conditions but with marked differences in grain yield and other traits under moisture deficit. Use of such promising landraces that would also be invaluable sources of desirable farmers-preferred end-use quality traits in combination with promising improved varieties as breeding materials could enhance the genetic grain from selection for drought tolerance in early maize.


2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitrios N. Vlachostergios ◽  
Anastasios S. Lithourgidis ◽  
Dimitrios V. Baxevanos ◽  
Athanasios G. Mavromatis ◽  
Christos S. Noulas ◽  
...  

A major constraint of lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) cultivation is yield reduction due to field infestation by the seed beetles Bruchus spp. (bruchids). The aim of the study was to assess seed loss (SL) and yield loss (YL) due to bruchid infestation under organic and conventional farming, and to investigate genotypic variability for seed yield of 20 lentil varieties in response to bruchid damage. Field experiments were established over three consecutive years in two areas of central and northern Greece. SL was determined as the percentage of damaged seeds, whereas the weight of the damaged seeds was estimated as YL. Farming system was the main source of variation for both SL and YL. Mean SL under organic farming was 15% and mean YL was 0.13 t ha–1. SL and YL were 2.6- and 8.4-fold higher, respectively, under organic than conventional farming. Valuable genotypic variability was observed with respect to both SL and YL. Early flowering and small seed size were traits associated with low SL and YL. Among varieties, mean SL ranged from 8.5% to 29.2% and YL from 0.06 to 0.31 t ha–1. Evaluation for high yield potential, indicating bruchid tolerance, revealed two types of promising varieties: varieties with high yield and low seed bruchid damage due to phenological escape, and varieties with high yielding potential despite the high SL and YL.


Weed Science ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda S. Smith ◽  
John A. Pawlak ◽  
Don S. Murray ◽  
Laval M. Verhalen ◽  
J. D. Green

Field experiments were conducted in 1985 and 1986 under eight environments to evaluate the population dynamics of a range of silverleaf nightshade densities and to measure the effects of those populations on cotton lint yield. Dry weed weights of silverleaf nightshade stands were influenced by growing conditions among years, but were positively related to initial densities as long as 2 yr after establishment. Stem numbers increased as initial densities and stand age increased. A negative linear relationship existed between cotton lint yield and weed biomass and between cotton lint yield and stem number from both 1- and 2-yr-old weed stands. For each 1 kg/10 m of row increase in dry weed weight from 1- and 2-yr-old stands, a 9 and 21% lint yield loss/ha was predicted, respectively. For each stem/10 m of row, a 0.35 and 0.31% yield loss was predicted, respectively. Late-planted cotton was less vulnerable to yield reductions by silverleaf nightshade; however, its yield potential was also less.


Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1585
Author(s):  
Laouali M. Nasser ◽  
Baffour Badu-Apraku ◽  
Vernon E. Gracen ◽  
Hortense N. A. Mafouasson

Grain-yield potential of maize (Zea mays L.) is limited by the harsh climatic conditions during dry seasons in the savanna of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). One hundred and five hybrids derived from diallel crosses involving 15 early-maturing yellow maize inbreds were screened under combined drought and heat stress (CDHS) and well-watered (WW) conditions at four locations representative of the dry savannas of Niger, 2012–2014. The objective of the study was to examine the general combining ability (GCA) effects of the inbred lines and specific combining ability (SCA) of the crosses under CDHS and WW environments, assess yield and stability of the derived hybrids under contrasting environments and investigate inter-relationships among traits of the hybrids under contrasting environments. GCA and SCA effects for grain yield and other measured traits were significant, with preponderance of GCA effects over SCA effects under both the CDHS and WW environments. Inbred ENT 13 possessed positive and significant GCA effects for grain yield under both CDHS and WW environments indicating that the inbred could be used for developing outstanding hybrids with good levels of tolerance to CDHS. This also implied that the inbred line could serve as invaluable genetic resource for introgression of favorable alleles into tropical early-maturing maize populations for accelerated genetic gains from selection for improved grain yield. Hybrids ENT 13 × TZEI 167 and TZEI 157 × ENT 13 were the most stable and among the highest yielding hybrids across research environments. These outstanding hybrids could be tested extensively for commercialization in SSA to improve food security. Plant and ear aspects and days to 50% silking could be combined with grain yield in a selection index for improvement of yield under CDHS without yield penalties under WW environments.


Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 76
Author(s):  
Aloysius Beah ◽  
Alpha Y. Kamara ◽  
Jibrin M. Jibrin ◽  
Folorunso M. Akinseye ◽  
Abdullahi I. Tofa ◽  
...  

This paper assessed the application of the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM)–maize module as a decision support tool for optimizing nitrogen application to determine yield and net return of maize production under current agricultural practices in the Nigeria savannas. The model was calibrated for two maize varieties using data from field experiments conducted under optimum conditions in three locations during the 2017 and 2018 cropping seasons. The model was evaluated using an independent dataset from an experiment conducted under different nitrogen (N) levels in two locations within Southern and Northern Guinea savannas. The results show that model accurately predicted days to 50% anthesis and physiological maturity, leaf area index (LAI), grain yield and total dry matter (TDM) of both varieties with low RMSE and RMSEn (%) values within the range of acceptable statistics indices. Based on 31-year seasonal simulation, optimum mean grain yield of 3941 kg ha−1 for Abuja, and 4549 for Kano was simulated at N rate of 120 kg ha–1 for the early maturing variety 2009EVDT. Meanwhile in Zaria, optimum mean yield of 4173 kg ha–1 was simulated at N rate of 90 kg ha−1. For the intermediate maturing variety, IWDC2SYNF2 mean optimum yields of 5152, 5462, and 4849 kg ha−1, were simulated at N application of 120 kg ha−1 for all the locations. The probability of exceeding attainable mean grain yield of 3000 and 4000 kg ha−1 for 2009EVDT and IWDC2SYNF2, respectively would be expected in 95% of the years with application of 90 kg N ha−1 across the three sites. Following the profitability scenarios analysis, the realistic net incomes of US$ 536 ha–1 for Abuja, and US$ 657 ha−1 for Zaria were estimated at N rate of 90 kg ha−1 and at Kano site, realistic net income of US$ 720 ha–1was estimated at N rate of 120 kg ha−1 for 2009EVDT.For IWDC2SYNF2, realistic net incomes of US$ 870, 974, and 818 ha−1 were estimated at N application of 120 kg ha−1 for Abuja, Zaria, and Kano respectively. The result of this study suggests that 90 kg N ha−1 can be recommended for 2009EVDT and 120 kg N ha–1 for IWDC2SYNF2 in Abuja and Zaria while in Kano, 120 kg N ha−1 should be applied to both varieties to attain optimum yield and profit.


2010 ◽  
Vol 46 (No. 1) ◽  
pp. 21-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Šíp ◽  
J. Chrpová ◽  
O. Veškrna ◽  
L. Bobková

Reactions to artificial infection with Fusarium graminearum isolates and a new fungicide Swing Top were studied in nine winter wheat cultivars evaluated in field experiments at two sites for three years for expression of symptoms, deoxynivalenol (DON) content in grain and grain yield. The results demonstrate a pronounced and relatively stable effect of cultivar resistance on reducing head blight, grain yield losses and contamination of grain by the mycotoxin DON. It is advantageous that the moderate level of resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB) was detected also in two commonly grown Czech cultivars Sakura and Simila. Average fungicide efficacy for DON was 49.5% and 63.9% for a reduction in yield loss, however, it was found highly variable in different years and sites. The joint effect of cultivar resistance and fungicide treatment was 86.5% for DON and even 95.4% for reducing the yield loss. A very high risk was documented for susceptible cultivars and also the effects of medium responsive cultivars were found to be highly variable in different environments and therefore not guaranteeing sufficient protection against FHB under different conditions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
R.M. IKRAM ◽  
A. TANVEER ◽  
R. MAQBOOL ◽  
M.A. NADEEN

ABSTRACT: Brown chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the two chickpea types grown in Pakistan and other countries. The critical period for weed removal in a rainfed chickpea system is an important consideration in devising weed management strategies. Field experiments were conducted in the winter season of 2011 and 2012 to determine the extent of yield loss with different periods of weed crop competition. Seven weed crop competition periods (0, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105 and 160 days after sowing - DAS) were used to identify the critical period for weed removal in rainfed chickpea. Experimental plots were naturally infested with Euphorbia dracunculoides and Astragalus sp. in both years. Individual, composite density and dry weights of E. dracunculoides and Astragalussp. increased significantly with an increase in the competition period. However, yield and yield-contributing traits of chickpea significantly decreased with an increase in the competition period. Chickpea seed yield loss was 11-53% in different weed crop competition periods. Euphorbia dracunculoides and Astragalus sp. removed 39.9 and 36.9 kg ha-1 of N, 9.61 and 7.27 kg ha-1 of P and 38.3 and 36.9 kg ha-1 of K, respectively. Season long weed competition (160 days after sowing) resulted in 19.5% seed protein content compared with 24.5% seed protein content in weed-free chickpea. A Logistic equation was fitted to yield data in response to increasing periods of weed crop competition. The critical timing of weed removal at 5 and 10% acceptable yield losses were 26 and 39 DAS, respectively. The observed critical period suggests that in rainfed chickpea, a carefully timed weed removal could prevent grain yield losses.


1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 53 ◽  
Author(s):  
PC Pheloung ◽  
KHM Siddique

Field experiments were conducted in the eastern wheat belt of Western Australia in a dry year with and without irrigation (1987) and in a wet year (1988), comparing three cultivars of wheat differing in height and yield potential. The aim of the study was to determine the contribution of remobilisable stem dry matter to grain dry matter under different water regimes in old and modern wheats. Stem non-structural carbohydrate was labelled with 14C 1 day after anthesis and the activity and weight of this pool and the grain was measured at 2, 18 and 58 days after anthesis. Gutha and Kulin, modern tall and semi-dwarf cultivars respectively, yielded higher than Gamenya, a tall older cultivar in all conditions, but the percentage reduction in yield under water stress was greater for the modern cultivars (41, 34 and 23%). In the grain of Gamenya, the increase in 14C activity after the initial labelling was highest under water stress. Generally, loss of 14C activity from the non-structural stem dry matter was less than the increase in grain activity under water stress but similar to or greater than grain activity increase under well watered conditions. Averaged over environments and cultivars, non-structural dry matter stored in the stem contributed at least 20% of the grain dry matter.


Plant Disease ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 95 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. K. Gremillion ◽  
A. K. Culbreath ◽  
D. W. Gorbet ◽  
B. G. Mullinix ◽  
R. N. Pittman ◽  
...  

Field experiments were conducted in 2002 to 2006 to characterize yield potential and disease resistance in the Bolivian landrace peanut (Arachis hypogaea) cv. Bayo Grande, and breeding lines developed from crosses of Bayo Grande and U.S. cv. Florida MDR-98. Diseases of interest included early leaf spot, caused by the fungus Cercospora arachidicola, and late leaf spot, caused by the fungus Cercosporidium personatum. Bayo Grande, MDR-98, and three breeding lines, along with U.S. cvs. C-99R and Georgia Green, were included in split-plot field experiments in six locations across the United States and Bolivia. Whole-plot treatments consisted of two tebuconazole applications and a nontreated control. Genotypes were the subplot treatments. Area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) for percent defoliation due to leaf spot was lower for Bayo Grande and all breeding lines than for Georgia Green at all U.S. locations across years. AUDPC for disease incidence from one U.S. location indicated similar results. Severity of leaf spot epidemics and relative effects of the genotypes were less consistent in the Bolivian experiments. In Bolivia, there were no indications of greater levels of disease resistance in any of the breeding lines than in Bayo Grande. In the United States, yields of Bayo Grande and the breeding lines were greater than those of the other genotypes in 1 of 2 years. In Bolivia, low disease intensity resulted in the highest yields in Georgia Green, while high disease intensity resulted in comparable yields among the breeding lines, MDR-98, and C-99R. Leaf spot suppression by tebuconazole was greater in Bolivia than in the United States. This result indicates a possible higher level of fungicide resistance in the U.S. population of leaf spot pathogens. Overall, data from this study suggest that Bayo Grande and the breeding lines may be desirable germplasm for U.S. and Bolivian breeding programs or production.


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