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Acta Agronomica Sinica ›› 2018, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (02): 288-296.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2018.00288

• Orginal Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effect of Low Temperature in Spring on Yield and Photosynthetic Characteristics of Wheat

Rui-Xia WANG1, Chang-Sheng YAN2, Xiu-Ying ZHANG2, Guo-Zhong SUN2, Zhao-Guo QIAN1, Xiao-Lei QI1, Qiu-Huan MOU1, Shi-He XIAO2,*()   

  1. 1 Tai’an Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Tai’an 271000, Shandong, China;
    2 National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement / Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
  • Received:2017-02-04 Accepted:2017-09-10 Online:2018-02-12 Published:2017-10-27
  • Contact: Shi-He XIAO E-mail:xiaoshihe@caas.cn
  • Supported by:
    This study was supported by China Agricultural Research System (CARS-03-21), Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest (201203033), and Scientific Research of Tai’an City, Shandong Province (20123034).

Abstract:

Low temperature (LT) stress in spring occurs frequently in the Huang-Huai Rivers Valley, resulting in yield loss of wheat. The objectives of this study were to understand the physiological responses of wheat cultivars to LT and determine suitable physiological indicator(s) for cold-tolerance selection. Three cultivars, Taishan 6426, Taishan 4033, and Jimai 22, were exposed to LT stress at standing, jointing and booting stages, and the yield-related traits, photosynthetic parameters as well as leaf cell structure were compared among different cultivars. The agronomic traits of different cultivars changed in similar trends after LT treatment with the consistent result across years. Plant height received small influence of LT, especially LT at standing stage. In contrast, spike number per plant decreased significantly compared with the control (normal temperature), but the reduced percentage varied across years. Grain number per spike and yield per plant showed significantly declined trends with delaying LT stress, and the maximum decrements were observed in the treatment of LT at booting stage. The grain number per spike was 90.5%-93.3% (2012-2013) and 91.9%-93.6% (2013-2014) lower, and the yield per plant was 87.9%-97.3% (2012-2013) and 91.5%-97.8% (2013-2014) lower in LT treatment at booting than in the control. Booting stage was secondly sensitive to LT in yield, whereas jointing stage was less influenced by LT. Grain yield loss under LT stress mainly resulted from the decrease of grain number per spike. Under LT at jointing or booting stage, the chlorophyll content decreased in the three cultivars, but the decrement varied across cultivars. Moreover, the photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate and stomata conductance decreased significantly and the intercellular CO2 concentration increased greatly in the three cultivars, and those in Taishan 6426 had the minimum variations. LT also had inhibition in chlorophyll fluorescence parameters of wheat. For example, the Fv/Fm value was significantly lower in the treatment of LT at jointing or booting stage than in the control except for Taishan 6426. When exposed to LT stress, leaf epidermic cells were severely damaged, showing their loose arrangement and irregular structures of guard cell and accessory cell. Our results indicate that photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomata conductance, intercellular CO2 concentration and Fv/Fm can be used as indicators to identify tolerance of wheat cultivars to spring coldness.

Key words: wheat, low temperature, yield, photosynthetic and fluorescent parameters, cold resistance

Fig. 1

Variation of yield components after low temperature stress at different stages CK: control; LT-S: low temperature at standing stage; LT-J: low temperature at jointing stage; LT-B: low temperature at booting stage. Different letters above error bars indicate significant difference among treatments at P < 0.05."

Table 1

Variation of photosynthetic characteristics after low temperature stress"

年份
Year
品种
Cultivar
参数
Parameter
CK1 LT-J CK2 LT-B
2012-2013 济麦22
Jimai 22
Chl (mg mg-1) 63.40 55.10** 62.90 54.60**
Pn (μmol m-2 s-1) 17.30 8.44** 10.22 2.35**
E (mmol m-2 s-1) 1.93 0.68** 0.94 0.67*
Cleaf (mmol m-2 s-1) 187.30 73.50** 74.30 48.60**
Cint (μmol mol-1) 97.90 340.50** 260.50 337.30**
泰山6426
Taishan 6426
Chl (mg mg-1) 61.20 54.80** 57.50 54.20
Pn (μmol m-2 s-1) 15.96 5.14** 10.35 2.39**
E (mmol m-2 s-1) 0.65 0.31** 0.76 0.51*
Cleaf (mmol m-2 s-1) 131.10 69.70** 63.40 49.50**
Cint (μmol mol-1) 164.80 353.80** 269.6 356.20**
泰山4033
Taishan 4033
Chl (mg mg-1) 58.40 49.90** 56.10 45.00**
Pn (μmol m-2 s-1) 20.01 5.17** 9.07 1.89**
E (mmol m-2 s-1) 0.60 0.11** 0.60 0.32*
Cleaf (mmol m-2 s-1) 134.50 64.80** 59.00 45.90**
Cint (μmol mol-1) 138.60 375.80** 234.10 354.80**
2013-2014 济麦22
Jimai 22
Chl (mg mg-1) 65.80 57.10** 60.90 57.40*
Pn (μmol m-2 s-1) 26.50 4.77** 27.66 5.54**
E (mmol m-2 s-1) 1.62 0.80** 0.80 0.78
Cleaf (mmol m-2 s-1) 305.90 83.60** 66.20 53.80**
Cint (μmol mol-1) 280.40 341.20** 271.10 289.60**
泰山6426
Taishan 6426
Chl (mg mg-1) 62.30 58.00** 59.90 58.20
Pn (μmol m-2 s-1) 18.07 4.92** 20.79 0.33**
E (mmol m-2 s-1) 1.24 0.81** 0.45 0.34**
Cleaf (mmol m-2 s-1) 193.90 95.40** 58.80 43.00**
Cint (μmol mol-1) 279.00 343.50** 239.80 436.70**
泰山4033
Taishan 4033
Chl (mg mg-1) 57.60 51.80** 57.50 47.10**
Pn (μmol m-2 s-1) 22.45 1.34** 21.56 0.28**
E (mmol m-2 s-1) 1.14 0.56** 1.82 1.27**
Cleaf (mmol m-2 s-1) 180.60 68.60** 57.20 41.30**
Cint (μmol mol-1) 229.10 406.90** 161.30 401.40**

Table 2

Variation of fluorescent characteristics after low temperature stress"

年份
Year
品种
Cultivar
参数
Parameter
CK1 LT-J CK2 LT-B
2012-2013 济麦22
Jimai 22
最大荧光产量 Fm 849.00 682.00** 1121.00 735.00**
最小荧光产量 Fo 203.00 194.00* 239.00 294.00**
光化学猝灭系数 NPQ 1.65 0.95** 1.76 0.83**
PSII最大光化学效率Fv/Fm 0.76 0.72** 0.79 0.60**
泰山6426
Taishan 6426
最大荧光产量 Fm 728.00 707.00** 886.00 647.00**
最小荧光产量 Fo 227.00 231.00 315.00 243.00**
光化学猝灭系数 NPQ 1.37 1.30 1.27 0.90**
PSII最大光化学效率Fv/Fm 0.69 0.67 0.64 0.62
泰山4033
Taishan 4033
最大荧光产量 Fm 673.00 591.00** 771.00 694.00**
最小荧光产量 Fo 210.00 246.00** 281.00 371.00**
光化学猝灭系数 NPQ 0.70 0.48** 0.73 0.97**
PSII最大光化学效率Fv/Fm 0.69 0.58** 0.64 0.51**
2013-2014 济麦22
Jimai 22
最大荧光产量 Fm 1114.00 928.00** 1034.00 735.00**
最小荧光产量 Fo 370.00 358.00* 186.00 294.00**
光化学猝灭系数 NPQ 0.67 0.22** 0.87 0.83**
PSII最大光化学效率Fv/Fm 0.67 0.61** 0.72 0.60**
泰山6426
Taishan 6426
最大荧光产量 Fm 1101.00 1027.00** 794.00 647.00**
最小荧光产量 Fo 508.00 403.00** 287.00 243.00**
光化学猝灭系数 NPQ 0.92 0.57** 0.50 0.90**
PSII最大光化学效率Fv/Fm 0.63 0.61 0.64 0.62
泰山4033
Taishan 4033
最大荧光产量 Fm 2079.00 1419.00** 1076.00 874.00**
最小荧光产量 Fo 257.00 328.00** 345.00 444.00**
光化学猝灭系数 NPQ 0.70 0.62** 0.24 0.30*
PSII最大光化学效率Fv/Fm 0.80 0.69** 0.61 0.49**

Fig. 2

Leaf tissue structure of different wheat cultivars after low temperature stress at jointing and booting stages CK1 and CK2 are the controls at jointing and booting stages, respectively. LT-J and LT-B indicate low temperature at jointing and booting stages, respectively. EP: epidermis; MC: mesophyll cell; GC: guard cell; SAC: semicide-accessory cell; STO: stomata."

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