Changes of starch and sucrose content and related gene expression during the growth and development of Lanzhou lily bulb

As the main forms of carbohydrates, starch and sucrose play a vital role in the balance and coordination of various carbohydrates. Lanzhou lily is the most popular edible lily in China, mainly distributed in the central region of Gansu. To clarify the relationship between carbohydrate metabolism and bulb development of Lanzhou lily, so as to provide a basis for the promotion of the growth and development in Lanzhou lily and its important economic value, we studied lily bulbs in the squaring stage, flowering stage, half withering stage and withering stage. The plant height, fresh weight of mother and daughter bulbs continued to increase during the whole growth period and fresh weight of stem and leaf began to decrease in the half withering stage. The content of starch, sucrose and total soluble sugar in the lily mother bulb accumulated mostly in the flowering, withering and half withering stages, respectively. Starch, sucrose and total soluble sugar accumulated in the daughter bulb with the highest concentration during the withering stage. In the transcription level, sucrose synthase (SuSy1) and sucrose invertase (INV2) expressed the highest in squaring stage, and the expression was significantly higher in the mother bulb than in the daughter bulb. In flowering stage, the expression levels of soluble starch synthase (SSS1), starch-branching enzyme (SBE) and adenosine diphosphate-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGP1) genes were higher in the mother bulb than in the daughter bulb. Altogether, our results indicate that starch and sucrose are important for the bulb growth and development of Lanzhou lily.

Effects of short-term environmental stresses on the onset of cannabinoid production in young immature flowers of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.)

Backgrounds Cannabis sativa L. produces at least 120 cannabinoids. Although genetic variation is the main factor in cannabinoid production, the effects of short-term environmental stresses in the early flowering stage remains largely unknown. Methods To investigate the effects of short-term environmental stresses on the onset of cannabinoid production in young immature flowers, a hemp variety, Green-Thunder (5–8% CBD/mg of dry weight), was treated with mechanical damage, insect herbivory, extreme heat, or drought stress for 5–7 days during the first 2 weeks of flowering. Three hemp tissues, including flowers, leaves, and stems, were collected from hemp grown under these stress conditions at multiple time points during the first 2 weeks after transition to the short photoperiod and analyzed using high pressure liquid chromatography to quantify phytocannabinoids including cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), cannabidiol (CBD), Δ-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and cannabinol (CBN). Results The 5 days of mechanical wounding did not affect the production of any of the cannabinoids during the initial stage of flowering. However, after 5 days of herbivore treatment, there was a significant difference in concentration between day 1 and day 6 of CBGA (control: 308 μg/g; treatment – 24 μg/g), CBG (control: 69 μg/g; treatment: 52 μg/g), and CBD (control: 755 μg/g; treatment: 194 μg/g) between the control and treatment plants. The 7 days of heat treatment at 45–50 oC significantly reduced the production of CBGA during this observed window (control: 206 μg/g; treatment: 182 μg/g) and CBG (control: 21 μg/g; treatment: − 112 μg/g). Notably, the largest change was observed after 7 days of drought stress, when plants showed a 40% greater accumulation of CBG (control: 336 μg/g; treatment: 622 μg/g), and a significant decrease (70–80%) in CBD (control: 1182 μg/g; treatment: 297 μg/g) and THC amounts (control: 3927 μg/g; treatment: 580 μg/g). Conclusions Although this observation is limited in the early flowering stage, the common field stresses are adequate to induce changes in the cannabinoid profiles, particularly drought stress being the most impactful stress for hemp flower initiation with the altering the cannabinoid production by decreasing CBD and THC accumulation while increasing CBG by 40%.

Resistance of Brazilian wheat cultivars to blast under controlled condition

ABSTRACT: The first report of wheat blast in the world was in Brazil, in 1986. Since then, a great effort has been made towards the development of wheat cultivars resistant to this disease, which is caused by the fungus Pyricularia oryzae Triticum (PoT). The objective of this research was to (i) evaluate the resistance of wheat genotypes to blast and (ii) verify the correlation between disease severity on wheat spikes and sporulation rate of PoT on spike rachises. Plants of 40 cultivars grown in pots, at the flowering stage (stage 65 on the Zadoks scale), were inoculated with a suspension of conidia of a PoT isolate representative of the main variant of the fungus reported in Brazil. Severity of blast on the spikes at 5 and 7 days after inoculation (dai) and the rate of sporulation of the fungus on the rachis (conidia per g of rachis) were evaluated. Eighty percent of the cultivars that were classified in the group with the lowest sporulation rate were also classified in the group with the highest resistance at 7 dai. However, the correlation coefficients of the analysis established between the cultivar severity at 5 and 7 dai averages and the PoT sporulation rate averages were not significant (r=0.2464 and r=0.2047, respectively). Results obtained represent the updated characterization to blast of wheat cultivars in Brazil and constitute an important exploratory framework for the evaluation of the reaction of wheat genotypes based on the sporulation rate of PoT on their tissues.

A study on the consumptive use of water by kharif rice at Canning (West Bengal)

Based on the data for the period from 1977 to 1992 during the kharif season. mean weekly evapotranspiration (ET) and its contribution for different phases to total evaporative loss have been worked out for kharif rice at Canning. The evapotranspiration-evaporation ratio (ET/EP) and crop coefficient (Kc) have been round to attain peak values during the flowering stage. A relationship between ET/EP and number of days from transplanting has been developed and this relationship helps in detero\ining ET from a knowledge of EP and date of transplanting. Ratio of evapotranspiration to total shortwave radiation (ET/R2) which represents the combined effect of energy balance components. also reaches its peak value during the flowering stage. Among the four different energy summation indices. the potential evapotranspiration seems to be a better parameter for identification of growth stages of the crop. Water use efficiency of kharif rice shows significant year-to-year variations.

THE EVAPOTRANSPIRATIVE DEMAND AND WATER USE EFFICIENCY OF MAIZE CROP (ZEA MAYS L.) IN THE SEMI-ARID TRACT OF INDIA

Mai ze is an Impo rta nt component o f th e d ry lau d fanning system o f India. In th e present study.d ata fur five years' period for three 51ation s. viz.. New Delhi. Rajendran agar an d Bellary in th e dry farm ing tr act ofInd ia have been iuili zed to und erstand evapotra nspira tive deman d of the crop in relat ion to pan-evaporat ion , andsolar rad iation. Biomet ric cha racte ristic. e.g.. heil:ht ofthe pla nt has also been analysed \'U-U-I';S meteorological facton.' V,lIer use efficie ncy of maul," has also been workedout nnd discu ssed . Th e analysis indica ted th ai th e maize plant uses maximum water during the flowering stage. Th e ETJEP rati ogradu ally in creases fmm germination aua ining a maximum value 8 to 10we eks after sowing.Th is ratio is found 10 besignilican tl)' correlated with the plan t height . The ETIR, curve was found 10 follow a sigm oid patt ern reac hingmaximum during flowering stage. Th e water use efficiency of maize crop vari es ove r wide margins in limeand space.

Effects of Irrigation Levels on the Yield of Chickpea (Cicer Arietinum Linn) Due to Incidence of Helicoverpa Armigera

Effects of four different irrigation levels viz., One irrigation at 50 per cent flowering stage, one irrigation at grain filling/pod initiation stage, two irrigations (one at 50 per cent flowering + one at grain filling stage), control (without irrigation) on the incidence of gram pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) on chickpea were studied during Rabi, 2014-15 and 2015-16 at Research Farm, College of Agriculture, Bikaner (Rajasthan), India. Results revealed that the highest mean larval population (3.12 larvae per 5 plants) and maximum pod damage (33.24%) were recorded in the crop which was irrigated twice viz., one at 50 per cent flowering stage and second at grain filling stage. The lowest larval population (2.03 larvae per 5 plants) with minimum pod damage (8.34%) was recorded in the crop where irrigation was not given. The maximum seed yield (11.05 q/ha) was obtained from the crop which was irrigated two times and minimum seed yield (7.56 q/ha) was obtained in control. Bangladesh J. Bot. 50(4): 1203-1207, 2021 (December)

Dissection of Maize Drought Tolerance at the Flowering Stage Using Ge-Nome-Wide Association Study

Drought is one of the most critical environmental factors constraining corn production especially when it occurs during flowering, resulting in serious yield losses. In this study, anthesis to silk interval (ASI), plant height (PH), and ear biomass at the silking date (EBM) of 279 inbred lines were evaluated under water-stress (WS) and well-water (WW) field conditions for three consecutive years. Averagely, ASI was extended by 25.96%, ear biomass was decreased by 17.54%, and the PH was reduced by 12.47% under drought stress conditions. Genome wide association studies (GWAS) were carried out using phenotypic values under WS, WW and drought-tolerance index (WS-WW or WS/WW) applying mixed linear model controlling both population structure and relative kinship. Totally, 71, 159, and 21 SNPs were significantly (P < 10-5) associated with ASI, ear biomass, and PH, respectively. Candidate genes encoding ARABIDILLO 1 protein, glycoprotein, Tic22-like and Zinc finger family protein for ASI, and 26S proteasome non-ATPase regulatory subunit-9 for EBM, were identified under both WW and WS conditions. Pyridoxal phosphate transferase was associated with EBM under drought stress treatment in consecutive two years. Furthermore, most candidate genes were evidenced to be drought responsive in the association panel. Meanwhile, the favourable/drought tolerance haplotypes were identified based on haplotype analysis. These findings provide insights into the genetic basis of drought tolerance at the flowering stage especially for the female inflorescence development and will facilitate high drought tolerant maize breeding.