Table of Content

12 December 2007, Volume 33 Issue 12

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ORIGINAL PAPERS

QTL Mapping for Fiber Quality Properties in Cotton Cultivar Yumian 1

WANG Juan;GUO Wang-Zhen;ZHANG Tian-Zhen

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  1915-1921. 

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Cotton fiber is one of known natural resources comprising the highest purity cellulose. It plays an important role in the textile industry worldwide. With acceleration of spinning speeds and improvement of people’s living level, the demand of improving cotton fiber qualities is getting stronger and stronger. Using molecular marker linked tightly with main QTL of super quality to make marker-assisted selection is the most direct and effective method to improve fiber quality of commercial cultivars quickly. In this paper, a genetic linkage map was constructed by the F₂ segregation population derived from a cross between Yumian 1, a high quality cotton cultivar, and TM^-1, a genetic standard line. We identified 178 polymorphic loci with 5 544 pairs of SSR primers. The genetic map with 138 loci was constructed, which had a whole length of 959.7 cM and covered 19% of the whole cotton genome. Moreover, the fiber characteristics of the F₂ plants and the F₃ family lines were analyzed by composite interval mapping (CIM) and 12 putative quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected for 5 traits, 1 for fiber length, 4 for fiber strength, 3 for fiber fineness, 3 for fiber uniformity and 1 for fiber elongation. These QTLs explained their corresponding phenotypic variations with 6.1%, 5.31%–14.62%, 7.88%–19.17%, 7.4%–11.71%, and 8.26%, respectively. Many QTLs associate with fiber quality located in Chromosome 23 and Chromosome 24 through chromosome tagging analysis combining with different elite fiber lines in the lab. The result provides references for utilizing reasonably Yumian1 in cotton breeding improvement.

Relationship between Concentrations of Polyamines in Filling Grains and Rice Quality

WANG Zhi-Qin;ZHANG Hao;WANG Xue-Ming;ZHANG Zi-Chang;YANG Jian-Chang

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  1922-1927. 

Abstract ( 1726 )   PDF (1734KB) ( 1093 )   Save

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Polyamines have been frequently described as endogenous plant growth regulators or intracellular messengers mediating physiological processes. This study investigated whether polyamines are related with the grain quality of rice. Twelve rice genotypes were grown in the field, and used to determine the concentrations of putrescine (Put), spermidine (Spd), and spermine (Spm) in the grains during the grain filling period. The relationship between polyamine concentrations and rice quality were analyzed, and chemical regulators were applied to verify the roles of polyamines in regulating rice quality. The results showed that a genotype with better milling and appearance qualities had higher concentrations of Spd and Spm, and lower put concentrations, in grains during the filling period. Concentrations of Spd and Spm in the grains were significantly or very significantly and positively correlated with grain plumpness, grain weight, brown rice, and milled rice, and negatively correlated with chalkiness. Concentrations of Put were significantly or very significantly and negatively correlated with grain plumpness, grain weight, brown rice, and milled rice, whereas positively correlated with chalkiness. Neither of Put nor Spd and Spm was significantly correlated with head rice and amylose content. Application of Spd or Spm to panicle at the early grain filling stage significantly increased the maximum endosperm cell number and activities of sucrose synthetase (SuS), adenine diphosphoglucose pyrophosphorylase (AGP), and soluble starch synthetase (SSS) in grains, and improved the milling and appearance qualities. Application of Put or methylglyoxal -bis (guanylhydrazone) (MGBG, an inhibitor of S-adenosyl-L-methionine decarboxylase) exhibited an opposite effect. The results suggested that the milling and appearance qualities would be improved to a certain degree by increasing Spd and Spm, or reducing Put, concentrations in the filling grains through variety breeding or application of chemical regulators.

Genetic Variability of Tofu and Soymilk Output in Cultivated and Wild Soybeans in China

WANG Chun-E;ZHAO Tuan-Jie;GAI Jun-Yi

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  1928-1934. 

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It is the basis for high tofu and soymilk output breeding to characterize the genetic variability of the germplasm of both cultivated soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] and wild soybean [Glycine soja Sieb. et Zucc.] from different varietal eco-regions. In the present study, 946 accessions, including 564 landraces, 101 released cultivars, 193 wild materials from various eco-regions in China and 88 released cultⅣars from abroad were tested for their dried tofu and soymilk output by using the mini-specimen technique established in our lab recently. Data obtained were analyzed with software of SAS 9.0 and SPSS 13.0 .The resulted indicated there existed large variation in dried tofu and soymilk output both in cultivated and wild soybeans in China, with a range of 25.32–69.59 and 25.52–85.89 g 100 g^-1 for dried tofu output and 40.75–82.86 and 39.05–91.86 g 100 g^-1 for dried soymilk output, respectively, and the averages of cultivated soybean were much larger than those of wild soybean. The results in various eco-regions showed a similar trend as in the whole country. The variation in dried tofu and soymilk output within an eco-region was more than that among eco-regions; and there existed a weak geographical variation for cultivated soybeans, especially in some southern eco-regions, which might be due to the accumulation from artificial selection since there was no similar trend naturally for wild soybean. About 2.75% of the cultivated accessions were with more than 75 g 100 g^-1 of dried tofu output and about 5.50% with more than 85 g 100 g^-1 of dried soymilk output, from which 14 elite accessions from Eco-region Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ, and Ⅵ with double high outputs were screened out for high output breeding purposes.

Predicting Grain Protein Content with Canopy Hyperspectral Remote Sensing in Wheat

FENG Wei;YAO Xia;TIAN Yong-Chao;ZHU Yan;LIU Xiao-Jun;CAO Wei-Xing

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  1935-1942. 

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Grain protein content is an important index indicating wheat quality status, and non-destructive and quick assessments of grain protein content are necessary for cultural regulation and quality classification in wheat production. The objectives of this study were to determine the relationships of grain protein content to ground-based canopy hyper-spectral reflectance and spectral parameters, and to derive regression equations for predicting grain protein content in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) with canopy hyper-spectral remote sensing, by four field experiments with different wheat cultivars and nitrogen levels across three growing seasons, and by time-course measurements on canopy hyperspectral reflectance, plant dry weight, nitrogen content and grain protein content during the experiment periods in 2003–2006. In experiment one and four two cultivars of Ningmai 9 and Yumai 34 was used as low and high protein types respectively. In experiment two, Yangmai 12 was added as medium protein type cultivar. In experiment three, the high protein type cultivar altered for Xuzhou 26, and medium type cultivar for Yangmai 10 and Huaimai 20. The results showed that the grain protein content at maturity in wheat increased with nitrogen rate promotion, and could be well estimated by plant nitrogen nutrition status such as leaf N content and leaf N accumulation at anthesis. The regression analyses between vegetation indices developed and leaf N nutrition indices such as leaf N content and leaf N accumulation indicated that several key spectral parameters could be accurately used to estimate the changes in leaf N status across different growth stages, nitrogen levels and growing seasons, e.g., REPle and mND705 could be used to leaf nitrogen content, and SDr/SDb and FD742 to leaf nitrogen accumulation. The total predicting models on grain protein content at maturity were constructed based on canopy hyper-spectral parameters at anthesis by linking the above two models with leaf N nutrition as intersection in wheat. Testing of the predicting models with independent datasets indicated that the spectral indices of REPle, mND705, SDr/SDb, and FD742 could be used to accurately estimate grain protein contents in wheat. It can be concluded that the grain protein content at maturity in wheat could be predicted directly by key vegetation indices at anthesis, with more reliable estimation from mND705.

Bayesian Analysis of All Markers on the Entire Genome in the F_2:3 Design

WAN Su-Qin;SHAO Yan-Hua;YUAN You-Lu;ZHANG Yuan-Ming

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  1943-1948. 

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In the inheritance analysis of quantitative traits with relatively low heritability, the precision is relatively low. In this situation, an F_2:3 design, which is genotyped in F₂ plants and phenotyped in the F_2:3 progeny, is applied to increase the precision in the detection of quantitative trait loci (QTL). However, there are two issues needed to be further considered. One is to take full advantage of the mixture distribution for F_2:3 families of heterozygous F₂ plants, and the other to adopt multi-QTL genetic model. In this article, therefore, we extended our previous method from a single-QTL genetic analysis to joint analysis of all markers on the entire genome in the F_2:3 design. The proposed method here is on the basis of multi-QTL genetic model, and also takes full advantage of the mixture distribution mentioned above. Results of simulated studies showed that the new method provides accurate estimates for both the effects and the positions of QTL. Moreover, two strategies for sampling QTL effects were compared and the new one is better than the old one. In conclusion, the new method may is more suitable for mapping QTL for complex traits with low heritability.

Effects of Nitrogen and Phosphorus on the Root Exudates during Grain Filling and Their Relations with Grain Quality of Rice

CHANG Er-Hua;ZHANG Hao;Zhang Shen-Feng;WANG Zhi-Qin;YANG Jian-Chang

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  1949-1959. 

Abstract ( 1895 )   PDF (7751KB) ( 1042 )   Save

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Root exudates of plants, such as organic acids and ions, play a role in regulating plant growth and development. The purpose of this study was to investigate how nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) nutrients affect the production of root exudates and rice quality. Two rice cultivars, Yangdao 6 (indica) and Yangjing 9538 (japonica), were used, with five treatments, 0 N (without N), 1/2 N (1/2 N in the standard Espino nutrition solution), 0 P (without P), 1/2 P (1/2 P in the standard Espino nutrition solution) and CK (standard Espino nutrition solution), during the grain filling period. The compositions in root exudates and their relations with grain appearance quality, cooking and eating quality, and protein components were analyzed. The result showed that nitrogen stress (0 N) during grain-filling significantly reduced root activity, concentrations of organic acids, amino acids, and ions in the root exudates, accelerated the root senescence. However, phosphorus stress (0 P) significantly increased the concentrations of organic acids, amino acids, and ions. Correlation analysis showed that the concentrations of tartaric acid, citric acid, and amino acid in root exudates were negatively correlated with chalkiness, amylose content, and breakdown values, and significantly and positively correlated with the setback values at early and mid filling stage (10 and 20 d after anthesis). The malic acid exuded from roots was significantly and positively correlated with chalkiness, amylose content, and breakdown values, and significantly and negatively correlated with the setback value. The [Ca²⁺], [K⁺], [Na⁺], [NO₃^-], [NH₄⁺], and [PO₄^3-] in root exudates were significantly correlated with chalkiness, amylose content, protein compositions. The results suggest that N and P nutrients play a role in regulating the production of root exudates, which influence the grain quality further.

Effect of Shading on Grain Quality at Different Stages from Flowering to Maturity in Maize

JIA Shi-Fang;DONG Shu-Ting; WANG Kong-Jun; ZHANG Ji-Wang;LI Cong-Feng

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  1960-1967. 

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Light deficiency from pollination to maturity is a common problem in summer maize (Zea mays L.) production in Huang-Huai-Hai-River region in China. Some researches on rice (Oryza sativa L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] have reported that light deficiency limited carbohydrate accumulation, and result in protein content increase in grain. However, the conclusion on maize is uncertain due to rare studies. To investigate the effects of low light intensity at different stages after pollination on grain quality and the activities of key enzymes of starch and protein syntheses, we conducted a field experiment by shading treatment in 2005–2006 with two maize cultivars, Feiyu 3 (high starch content) and Taiyu 2 (low starch content). The black fabric net was used for making light defiency with 45% sunlight transmission. The shading periods were 1–14 (S1), 15–28 (S2), and 29–42 (S3) days after pollination (DAP), respectively. Only medium position grains of the ear were sampled at 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 DAP to determinate the enzyme activities. Grain yield and quality parameters were measured after maturity. Compared with the control (no shading treatment, S0), the S1, S2, and S3 treatments showed obvious difference in grain quality and activities of tested enzymes, and the two cultivars had similar results. The grain yield, test weight, and starch content in the three shading treatments were significantly lower than those in control, while the water content, protein content and oil content were relatively higher. The grain nutrition quality indexes such as four protein component contents, glutenin/gliadin ratio, amylopectin /amylose ratio, sub-oleic acid content, flax acid content, un-saturated fatty acid content and sub-oleic acid/Oleic acid ratio increased by shading, these suggesting shading improved the grain nutrition quality. However, the grain starch RVA eigenvalues such as peak viscosity (PV), hot viscosity (HV) and breakdown (BD) decreased by shading, resulting in the decline of cooking and eating quality. The activities of the tested enzymes were significantly reduced by shading treatment, in which the activities of adenosine diphosphate glucose pyrophosphorylase (ADPG), uridine diphosphate glucose pyrophosphorylase (UDPG), soluble starch synthases (SSS), and granule bounded starch synthases (GBSS) were significantly and positively correlated with grain starch content, test weight, peak viscosity, and breakdown. The activities of glutamine synthase (GS) and glutamate synthase (GOGAT) were significantly and positively correlated with grain protein content and Glu/Gli ratio. Among three shading treatments, the commodity quality (test weight and water content) of maize grain was affected mostly by S1, moderately by S2, and least by S3, respectively. However, the effect of S2 treatment on grain nutrition quality was more decisive as compared with those of S1 and S3. This result suggested that the early and middle terms from flowering to maturity are the key stage for the impact of shading on grain qualities, with little effect for the light condition at the later stage from flowering to maturity stage.

Catalase Activity Response to Sulfur Dioxide in Zea mays L.

SUN Jian-Wei

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  1968-1971. 

Abstract ( 1863 )   PDF (1100KB) ( 1050 )   Save

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Sulfur dioxide (SO₂) content in the air is tending higher with the industrial development. Sulfur dioxide pollution causes environment deterioration and acid rain, which bring about severe harmfulness to plant growth and development. Catalase (CAT) plays an important role in keeping the balance of active oxygen metabolism in plant cell. However, the effects of SO2 on CAT activity in crops including maize (Zea mays L.) are rarely reported. The present study was conducted to provide primary result in the area with 5 maize hybrids of Ludan 981, Lainong14, DH3, Suyu 9, and Yedan 2. In a simple self-made obturator (168 cm×65 cm×63 cm), maize seedling was treated with 60 mg m^-3 SO₂ for 2 h. The CAT activity of treated leaf was measured at 0, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h after treatment, respectively. The CAT isoenzymes and CAT gene were analyzed by PAGE and RT-PCR, respectively. The results showed that the CAT activity of leaf response to SO₂ differed significantly (P<0.01) among maize cultivars. The CAT activity reduced by 59% and 38% in the sensitive hybrid Ludan 981 and non-sensitive hybrid Yedan 2 respectively as compared with control (no SO₂ treatment). The CAT activity rose gradually after SO₂ treatment and restored to the normal level at 48 h after treatment. The analyses of isoenzymes and RT-PCR also received the same results, indicating that CAT might play an important role in the interaction of SO₂ and maize.

Function of Winter Ryegrass Grown in Six Different Types of Paddy Soils

WANG Li-Hong;ZENG Zhao-Hai;YANG Guang-Li;LI Hui-Bin;XIAO Xiao-Ping;ZHANG Fan;HU Yue-Gao

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  1972-1976. 

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The total amount of winter fallow areas have increased in south China in recent years. It not only causes enormous waste of resources and energies, but also affects paddy soil qualities and farming environment. Winter ryegrass was essential to improve soil productivity and carbon and nitrogen fixation. The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of winter ryegrass on carbon and nitrogen fixation and the change of soil microbial biomass carbon and soil microbial biomass nitrogen in six different types of paddy soils in south China. The experiment designed winter ryegrass and winter fallow respectively in six different types of paddy soils. The result showed that, winter ryegrass dry matter was significant in different types of paddy soils. Ryegrass biomass was the highest in alluvial sandy soil with 11 324.8 and 8 227.3 kg ha^-1 respectively in aboveground and root. The carbon uptake in aboveground and root of ryegrass was 4 495.3 and 2 799.6 kg ha^-1 respectively in alluvial sandy soil. The nitrogen uptake in aboveground and root of ryegrass was 238.1 and 60.1 kg ha^-1 respectively. The change of soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC), soil microbial biomass nitrogen (SMBN) was significant between winter ryegrass and winter fallow treatments in six different types of paddy soils. Winter ryegrass increased soil microbial activities, especially in alluvial sandy soil.

Effects of Nitrogen Application Rates on Photosynthetic Characteristics of Flag Leaves in Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

GUO Tian-Cai;SONG Xiao;MA Dong-Yun;WANG Yong-Hua;XIE Ying-Xin;ZHA Fei-Na;YUE Yan-Jun;YUE Cai-Feng

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  1977-1981. 

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Nitrogen nutrient influences crop growth and grain yield through its direct effects on chlorophyll, rubisco, and photosynthetic structure. Many researches have focused on photosynthetic rate and dark reaction in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and explained in details the photosynthetic physiology of the flag leaf and canopy in late growing stages. In the present field experiment, a large-spike wheat cultivar, Lankaoaizao 8, was used for photoreaction study, which was seldom mentioned in former reports. Four nitrogen application rates with 0 (N1), 90 (N2), 180 (N3), and 360 kg N ha^-1 (N4) were respectively arranged in a randomized block design with three replicates. In each plot (3 m´5 m), half of the nitrogen fertilizer was applied before sowing, and the other half was topdressed at jointing stage. Additional P₂O₅ (150 kg ha^-1) and K₂O (150 kg ha^-1) were supplied as basal fertilizer. Since the 5th day after anthesis, flag leaves on ten stems from each plot were sampled every five days to determinate contents both of Chl and Car. Six fluorescence dynamic parameters of the flag leaf, fluorescence maximum (F_m), fluorescence origin (F_o), PSⅡ potential activity (F_v/F_o), the maximal quantum efficiency of PSⅡ photochemistry (F_v/F_m), photochemical quenching coefficient (qp), and non-photochemical quenching coefficient (qN), were measured at booting, flowering, early filling, and harvest stages, respectively. Content of Chl (a+b) decreased gradually with the process of grain filling in N1 treatment (control), but increased (P<0.01) at 5–15 days after anthesis (DAA), then decreased (P<0.01) in all three nitrogen treatments, and reached the peak in N3 treatment. Content of Car in the control decreased sharply at 20–30 DAA, and obtained the maximum value in N3 treatment. These results indicated that nitrogen application could avail photosynthetic pigments and delay leaf senescence. F_v/F_o, F_v/F_m, and qP in both control and nitrogen treatments reached their peaks at flowering stage, but most of them in nitrogen treatments were significantly (P<0.05) higher than those in control at the same growing stage. The qN showed a ascending trend from booting to harvest stages with its peak appearing at harvest stage in all the treatments. Compared with the control (N1), the N3 and N4 treatments showed the biggest effects on F_v/F_o and F_v/F_m, qP, and qN, respectively. It is suggested that proper nitrogen application rate (180 kg ha^-1) may promote grain yield by enhancing photosynthetic pigment contents, PSⅡ potential activity, and the maximal quantum efficiency of PSⅡ photochemistry, as well as reducing non-photochemical quenching coefficient.

Responses of Cotton Growth, Yield, and Water Use Efficiency to Alternate Furrow Irrigation

DU Tai-Sheng;KANG Shao-Zhong;WANG Zhen-Chang;WANG Feng;YANG Xiu-Ying;SU Xing-Li

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  1982-1990. 

Abstract ( 1965 )   PDF (2566KB) ( 1036 )   Save

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To explore new high-efficient water-saving irrigation methods in arid areas, field experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of alternate furrow irrigation in partial root zone on growth, yield and water use efficiency of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in an oasis region of Shiyang River Basin, Gansu province in 2004–2006. Planting with mulching and in furrows was applied with three partial root zone irrigation methods, i.e. conventional furrow irrigation (CFI, all furrows watered), fixed furrow irrigation (FFI, fixed one of every two furrows watered), and alternate furrow irrigation (AFI, neighboring two furrows alternatively watered) under three irrigation levels (225, 300, 450 m³ ha^-1 in 2004; 225, 300, 375 m³ ha^-1 in 2005; and 240, 360, 480 m³ ha^-1 in 2006) for each method in the three years. The results indicated that AFI shortened the cotton plant height, had no significant effect on reproductive growth such as bud and boll, and maintained the balance between vegetative and reproductive growth with reducing redundant growth. It regulated the distribution of photosynthesis products and ratio between root and shoot. AFI reduced ‘luxury’ transpiration without much reduction in photosynthetic rate, resulting in higher water use efficiency. In the three years, AFI always achieved the highest seed cotton yield under the three irrigation levels. Higher yield and reduced water loss also resulted in a higher water use efficiency (WUE) for the AFI treatment. Furthermore, percentage of pre-frost seed cotton yield under AFI was higher which meant better lint quality. Seed cotton WUE was improved by 17.22% and 18.59% as compared with CFI and FFI at the same irrigation levels of 37.5 mm in 2005. The results suggest that AFI should be a useful water-saving irrigation method in the arid region where cotton production is heavily dependent on irrigation.

Response of Rice Roots to 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene Stress

GE Cai-Lin;WAN Ding-Zhen;WANG Ze-Gang;DING Yan;WANG Yu-Long;SHANG Qi;MA Fei;LUO Shi-Shi

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  1991-2000. 

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The responses of rice roots to 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (TCB) stress were investigated by proteomic analysis, electron micrograph observation, and lipid peroxide estimation. The results showed that TCB stress inhibited root growth, led to water deficit in rice seedlings, affected cell structure and caused lipid peroxidation in rice roots. Moreover, TCB stress had significant effect on global proteome in rice roots. The analysis of the category and function of TCB stress inducible proteins showed that different groups of proteins were induced by 5 mg L^-1 TCB stress. They are detoxification enzymes (including esterase, aldo/keto reductases, and glutathione S-transferase), cell wall compound metabolism related enzymes (including UDP-glucose protein transglucosylase and GDP-mannose 3,5-epimerase 1), phytohormone metabolism and regulation related enzymes or proteins (including aci-reductone dioxygenase 4, beta-glucosidase, two members of pathogenesis-related proteins from family 10), primary and secondary metabolism regulative enzymes (including translational elongation factor Tu, cytosolic orthophosphate dikinase, triosephosphate isomerases, alanine aminotransferase, and isoflavone reductase). Compared the TCB stress inducible proteins between two cultivars, β-glucosidase and PR10 proteins were particularly induced in Aizizhan roots, and glutathione S-transferase and aci-reductone dioxygenase 4 were induced in Shanyou 63 roots. This might be one of the important mechanisms for Shanyou 63 having higher tolerance to TCB stress than Aizizhan.

Analysis of Embryo, Cytoplasmic and Maternal Effects on Glucosinolate Components in Brassica napus L.

WANG Rui;XU Xing-Fu;LI Jia-Na;TANG Zhang-Lin;CHEN Li

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  2001-2006. 

Abstract ( 1972 )   PDF (1617KB) ( 812 )   Save

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Quality of the meals and the defatted seed samples determined by constituents and proportion of glucosinolate components and heredity of glucosinolate components are of importance to breeding for good quality rapeseed varieties. Embryo, cytoplasmic, maternal effects and genotype by environment interaction effects for quality traits of rapeseed seeds were analyzed using a general genetic model for quantitative traits of seeds with parents, F₁ and F₂ of 28 crosses arranged in a partial incompleted diallel mating design of 11 parents planted in the field in 2004–2005 in Chongqing, China. It was found that the main effects of different genetic systems on glucosinolate components were more important than environment interaction effects. Among all of genetic main effects, the embryo effects were the largest for desulfoprogoitrin and desulfogluconapin, with the percentage of 75.21% and 58.25%, respectively. The cytoplasm effects were the largest for desulfo-4-hydroxyglucobrassicin and desulfogluconasturtin, with the percentage of 74.19% and 69.54%, respectively. While desulfoglucobrassicanapin was mainly dominated by embryo and cytoplasm, and the percentage amounted to 50.29% and 38.12% of total gentic effects. Among all of interaction effects, the cytoplasm interaction effects were the largest for desulfo-4-hydroxyglucobrassicin, while other glucosinolate components were mainly dominated by embryo interaction and cytoplasm interaction effects. The general heritabilities were the main parts of five glucosinolate components, but the interaction was low. Embryo heritabilities were the main components for desulfoprogoitrin and desulfogluconapin contents with the percentage of 71.61% and 53.76%, cytoplasm heritabilities were the main components for desulfo-4-hydroxyglucobrassicin and desulfogluconasturtin contents with the percentage of 68.21% and 68.47%, while embryo and cytoplasm heritabilities were the main components for desulfoglucobrassicanapin with the percentage of 47.81% and 36.24% in the general heritability. It was shown that cytoplasm interaction heritabilities were more important among five glucosinolate components. Based on the parent genetic effects predicated, D3AB and D21R were better than other parents for effectively reducing desulfoprogoitrin, desulfogluconapin and improving the quality of rapeseed.

Amount of Irrigation and Nitrogen Application for Maize Grown on Sandy Farmland in the Marginal Oasis in the Middle of Heihe River Basin

SU Yong-Zhong;ZHANG Zhi-Hui;YANG Rong

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  2007-2015. 

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Irrigation and nitrogen management are perhaps the most important aspects for grain production in the arid oasis agricultural area of Northwest China. A field experiment was conducted on sandy farmland to determine the effects of different irrigation amounts (conventional irrigation, 12 000 mm ha^-1; 10% water-saving irrigation, 10 800 mm ha^-1; 20% water-saving irrigation, 9 600 mm ha^-1) and nitrogen rate (0, 150, 225, 300, and 375 kg ha^-1) on maize yield in the marginal oasis in the middle of Heihe River Basin. Also, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), irrigation water productivity (WP) and N accumulation in 0–200 cm soil layer were discussed. There were no significant differences in maize yield and aboveground biomass among different irrigation treatments. Combining nitrogen fertilizer with manure, phosphate and potassium fertilizers, N application with 150–375 kg N ha^-1 increased maize yield by 74.8%–108.6% compared with no N applied. However, maize yield did not increase significantly at N rate above 225 kg N ha^-1. NUE ranged from 50.6% to 83.7% and decreased with increasing N application rate, with a strong decrease at N rate above 225 kg N ha^-1. Under the treatment of N fertilizer application, WP ranged from 0.97 to 1.35 kg m^-3 and decreased with increasing irrigation amount. WP did not increase significantly when N rate was above 225 kg N ha^-1. There was significant coupling effect between irrigation and nitrogen application. The treatments with conventional irrigation and high nitrogen rates had maximum yield, however, the water and nitrogen use efficiencies decreased significantly. There were no evident differences in water content in the 0–160 cm soil layer measured before each irrigation among the three irrigation treatments, indicating that conventional irrigation treatment can not conserve soil water for a longer period to used in maize growth compared to water-saving irrigation treatment. In conventional irrigation treatment, NO₃^－-N accumulation in the 0–200 cm soil layer was lower than that in the two water-saving irrigation treatments, indicating that more amount of NO₃^－-N was leached to deeper soil layers which increase the risk of N contamination to groundwater.
Based on the comprehensive consideration for high effective use of water and nitrogen, mitigation of water resource shortage and its sustainable use and decrease of the pollution risk of water by N, rational regulation and control of irrigation and fertilization and reducing moderately the inputs of irrigation water and nitrogen fertilizer should be a reasonable alteration for sandy farmland management and expectant water-saving potential can be achieved.

Water Physiological Characteristics of Rice Treated with Different Water Regimes and Nitrogen Forms

QIAN Xiao-Qing;GU Zhu-Ying;ZHOU Ming-Yao;BAI Yan-Chao;NI Mei-Juan;CAI Shu-Mei;DU Hong-Yan;SHEN Huai-Dong;WU Jing;XUE Qiao-Yun

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  2016-2020. 

Abstract ( 1827 )   PDF (5104KB) ( 872 )   Save

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Rice, most widely cultivated in China, consumes much more water and nitrogen than other crops. While keeping the current rice yield, to increase the use efficiency of water and nitrogen by means of water saving irrigation and reasonable nitrogen application is of great importance to sustainable agricultural development. To a certain degree, nitrogen cooperates significantly with water. Reasonable water use will increase the absorption of one or more types of nutrients, and vice versa. However, researches on effects of water use on nutrients uptake have been mainly focused on the upland crops. Recent studies show that the ecological adaptability of rice is so strong that its growth and output will not be affected so much when supplied with a moderate amount of water. Therefore, a considerable amount of water can be saved by cultivating rice using non-full irrigation methods and even upland cultivation. Different from the flooded irrigation, non-full irrigation or upland cultivation can significantly increase soil oxidation and nitrate concentration of soil solution. Nitrate becomes an important nitrogen source for rice growth thereafter. Although there are some researches concerning the effects of nitrogen form and water stress on crop growth and water use situation, very few work has been done on rice up till now. In this paper, water culture experiments，treated with or without PEG at 50 g L^-1, were conducted to study the effects of different NH₄⁺-N/NO₃^--N ratios (75/25, 50/50, 25/75) on some water physiological characteristics of rice. Items observed in the experiment included the concentrations of NO₃^-, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺ in leaf, conductance of leaf lixivium, relative water content and critical saturation deficiency of leaves, and leaf water potential of rice seedlings. The results showed that under simulated water stress condition more NO3--N was absorbed by Guanglin Xiangjing rice seedlings treated with low NH₄⁺-N/NO₃^--N. Conductance of leaf lixivium was reduced by the decrease of NH₄⁺-N/NO₃^--N ratio. When NH₄⁺-N/NO₃^--N ratio reached 25/75 lower leaf lixvium conductance was observed in rice seedlings treated with simulating water stress than that without water stress. Under none water stress conditions, the conductance of leaf lixivium increased with the decrease of NH₄⁺-N/ NO₃^--N ratio. Water stress decreased the relative leaf water content and increased the critical saturation deficiency when treated with higher NH₄⁺-N/NO₃^--N ratio. However, water stress didn’t show any significant effect on relative water content and critical saturation deficiency of leaves treated with lower NH₄⁺-N/NO₃^--N ratio (25/75). Therefore, nitrogen supply with low NH₄⁺-N/NO₃^--N ratio (25/75) was able to prevent leaf water potential decreasing caused by simulating water stress. In general, high ratio of NO₃^--N supply could reduce the negative effects of water stress on rice water-physiological response.

Effects of Post-Anthesis High Temperature and Water Stress on Activities of Key Regulatory Enzymes Involved in Protein Formation in Two Wheat Cultivars

ZHAO Hui;JING Qi;DAI Ting-Bo;JIANG Dong;CAO Wei-Xing

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  2021-2027. 

Abstract ( 1838 )   PDF (1869KB) ( 1164 )   Save

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Temperature and water are the main climatic factors affecting grain quality in wheat (Triticum aestivum). The growth-chamber experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of high temperature and water stress conditions during grain filling on the activities of key regulatory enzymes for protein accumulation and contents of protein components in wheat grains. Two wheat cultivars Yangmai 9 with low protein content and Yumai 34 with high protein content were grown under two day/night temperature regimes of 32℃/24℃ and 24℃/16℃, respectively. For each temperature regime, three soil water levels were established as moderate water status (soil relative water content, SRWC=75%–80%), drought (SRWC=45%–50%), and waterlogging. The results showed that protein and protein component contents in grains were affected significantly by high temperature, water, and temperature×water. High temperature enhanced protein content, but reduced glutenin /gliadin ratio. Under both optimum temperature and high temperature, drought enhanced protein content. Drought enhanced glutenin /gliadin ratio under optimum temperature, but reduced it under high temperature. Under both high and optimum temperatures, waterlogging reduced protein content and glutenin /gliadin ratio. Protein content was the highest at high temperature × drought, and the lowest at optimum temperature × waterlogging. Under high temperature and water stresses, differences in protein content and glutenin /gliadin ratio were caused mainly by changes in gliadin and glutenin contents. Both high temperature and water stress reduced glutamine synthase (GS) activity in flag leaves and glutamate pyruvic amino transferase （GPT） activity in grains, and both enzymes in the treatments were CK>drought>waterlogging. The responses of GS and GPT activities to high temperature and water stress differed between two cultivars with different grain protein contents. Under optimum temperature, GS activity in flag leaves was more affected by water stress for Yumai 34 and was more inhibited by high temperature for Yangmai 9. Opposite trend was found under high temperature.

Flour Quality Characteristics of Different Milling Streams for Strong Gluten Wheat Cultivars

ZAN Xiang-Cun;WANG Bu-Jun

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  2028-2033. 

Abstract ( 1707 )   PDF (1583KB) ( 962 )   Save

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In order to improve the flour quality for bread-baking, 6 Chinese strong-gluten wheat cultivars, such as Gaoyou 8901, Shiluan 02-1, Jimai 20, Gaoyou 9409, Gaoyou 9411, and Zhengmai 9023 were used in this experiment to study the quality characteristics of flour produced from different milling streams of Buhler Experimental Mill. The results showed that flour quality of different milling streams differed significantly and varied regularly in the six cultivars. In reduction flour, ash content, protein content, a* and b* values of slurry, damaged starch content, dough developing time and water absorption increased and the wet-gluten content, L* value of slurry, dough stable time, extensibility and maximum resistance decreased with the increase of milling stream number. While in break flour the protein content, wet gluten content, damaged starch content, water absorption, extension area and extensibility increased with the increase of milling stream number. The parameters of extension and bread-baking quality of break flour were better than those of reduction and straight-run flour. The positive correlation between protein content and wet gluten content(r=0.81**), between damaged starch content and water absorption(r=0.86**) and the negative correlation between the ash content and L* of slurry(r=－0.89**) among milling streams were observed. The result suggested that stream-selecting and flour blending method is an effective way to produce high quality flour for bread-baking with present available wheat cultivars.

Genetic Diversity in Upland Rice Germplasm from Different Geographic Regions

WANG Yi-Ping;WEI Xing-Hua;HUA Lei;YUAN Xiao-Ping;YU Han-Yong;XU Qun;TANG Sheng-Xiang

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  2034-2040. 

Abstract ( 1939 )   PDF (1616KB) ( 984 )   Save

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Genetic diversity in 144 accessions of upland rice germplasm from 4 geographic regions was assessed using 38 pairs SSR markers. A total of 137 alleles were detected ranging from 2 to 9 per locus with the mean of 3.6. The Nei’s gene diversity indices (He) ranged from 0.440 at RM162 to 0.854 at RM335, with the average of 0.598. There existed significant difference in SSR allelic diversity between indica and japonica subspecies. Indica upland rice（Na = 3.5, He = 0.558）had more variation than japonica one (Na = 3.2, He = 0.415), revealing the gene diversity of indica upland rice was more exuberant than that of japonica one. Regarding geographies regions, the He of upland rices in Asia countries (except China) was the highest, the followings were that in China (He 0.593), in South America (He 0.545) and in Africa (He 0.512). The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that 76.3% and 23.7% of total genetic variation were existed within subspecies and between subspecies with significant difference at 0.001 probability level respectively, showing the most genetic variation of upland rices came from within subspecies. Based on Nei’s genetic distance using data of 38 SSR loci, 144 upland rice germplasm could be distinguished as indica and japonica, but not be classified better into groups according to geographical regions. The present study verified that upland rices have rich genetic diversity, which is an excellent basis for upland rice breeding for tolerance to water stress.

Obtaining Information of Cotton Population Chlorophyll by Using Machine Vision Technology

WANG Fang-Yong;LI Shao-Kun;WANG Ke-Ru;BAI Jun-Hua;CHEN Bing;LIU Guo-Qing;TAN Hai-Zhen

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  2041-2046. 

Abstract ( 1713 )   PDF (1596KB) ( 1347 )   Save

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Machine vision have been successful applied to monitor crop morphological and physiological status, such as leaf area index, nitrogen content, chlorophyll content and so on. The trials was conducted from 2004 to 2006 at the experiment station of Shehezi University located in Shihezi, Xingjiang Province to monitor cotton canopy chlorophyll information under field conditions by processing cotton population digital image, which is one measurement method with advantages of convenient, real time, quick and nondestructive. In order to obtain uniform cotton canopy digital images, the assistant device was used. In the field, the cotton canopy images were taken by a digital photo camera (OLYMPUS) at the squaring stage, early flowering stage, full flowering stage, peak boll stage and opening boll stage, respectively. The color characteristics of cotton population images were extracted with the image processing software developed by our lab. The correlation between color parameters of cotton canopy digital image and chlorophyll content of cotton functional leaf was analyzed. The results showed that the correlation of the color characteristics such as G－R, (G－R)/(G+R), r/g, g/r, and g－r in the RGB color system, and Hue in the HIS color system with chlorophyll content of functional leaf was significant at P<0.01. There also was a significant correlation between the population greenness index (PGI) and color parameter. The chlorophyll predicted models were established. The tested results about the regression models suggested that G－R was the best parameter to monitor cotton population chlorophyll information. The relative error of chlorophyll content and PGI estimations was about 6.96% and 11.60%, and RMSE was 0.1138 and 0.1643. The chlorophyll content predicted model was y=－1.3008+0.2125(G－R)－0.0038(G－R)²（R²=0.8669**）, and PGI predict model was y=－0.9726+0.1227(G－R)－0.0016(G－R)²（R²=0.7487**）.

Grain Quality Traits Stability of High Oil Corn Hybrids and High Oil Xenia

JIANG Hai-Ying;ZHANG Bao-Shi;XING Ji-Min;LI Yu-Ling;FAN Min;SONG Tong-Ming;DAI Jing-Rui;CHEN Shao-Jiang

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  2047-2052. 

Abstract ( 1842 )   PDF (1629KB) ( 921 )   Save

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The oil, protein, starch contents of high oil corn (HOC) is influenced by environment, to estimate the stability of these components, 100 HOC single hybrids and 200 crosses of normal oil corn (NOC) seed parent pollinated with high oil pollinators (HOP) were used in the experiment. The oil content was measured by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), the protein and starch content was measured by Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS). The results indicated that location effect was higher than that of year. In different years and locations, the average variation range of oil content for 100 HOC hybrids was 1.00%, the maximum and minimum were 1.91% and 0.17%, respectively. There were some differences in variation range and stability for oil content among hybrids. The average variation was 1.00% for protein content in different environments.The average variation of starch was 0.4% in different years and 1.70% among locations, respectively. The maximum variation of starch content for all hybrids was 5.81%. For out-crossed kernels between NOC and HOP, the average variation of oil content was 1.00%, the maximum and minimum were 1.88% and 0.37%, respectively. The average variation of protein content was 1.78%, the maximum and minimum were 3.37% and 0.61%, respectively. The average variation of starch content was 2.95%, the maximum and minimum was 6.21% and 0.71%, respectively.

Coleoptile Elongation Response of Different Salt-Tolerant Wheat Cultivars to NaCl Stress

WANG Fang;DUAN Pei;WANG Bao-Shan

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  2053-2058. 

Abstract ( 2082 )   PDF (1580KB) ( 942 )   Save

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Soil salinity severely limited crop production worldwide. Breeding and planting salt-tolerant species were the most effective and economic way for utilizing saline soils. However, lacking of reliable, convenient, inexpensive and quick screening techniques was the limiting factor for salt-tolerant breeding program. It has been shown that coleoptile elongation under drought condition could be used as a useful index to screen drought-tolerant wheat cultivars. In the present study, a salt-tolerant wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar DK961 and a salt-sensitive one LM15 treated with 100 mmol L^-1 NaCl for two days were used to examine the response of coleoptile elongation to NaCl stress. Several indexes including radicle and coleoptile length, relative elongation rate (RER), fresh and dry weight, osmotic potential and osmotic adjustment ability, and contents of solutes such as proline, soluble sugars, Na⁺, and K⁺ were determined. The results showed that NaCl stress inhibited the radicle, coleoptile elongations and 100 mmol L^-1 NaCl was the optimal concentration to show the difference between the two cultivars. NaCl postponed the maximal elongation date. Interestingly, compared with controls, NaCl stress did not affect the final coleoptile length of both cultivars. Fresh and dry weights of coleoptile were both decreased and the decrease degree of LM15 was more than that of DK961. Osmotic potentials of coleoptile of both cultivars were decreased by NaCl stress and osmotic adjustment ability of DK961 was stronger than that of LM15; proline, soluble sugar and Na+ contents in coleoptile of both cultivars were increased by NaCl stress, and the increase degrees of DK961 were more than those of LM15. However, K+ content in coleoptile of both cultivars was decreased, and the decrease degree of LM15 was more than that of DK961. These results indicate that the coleoptile of salt-tolerant wheat cultivar (DK961) has a higher ability to maintain K⁺ in its cells than that of salt-sensitive one (LM15). Coleoptile elongation of salt-tolerant wheat cultivar (DK961) was significantly higher than that of salt-sensitive one (LM15) under the same NaCl stress, which was partly due to having a stronger osmotic adjustment ability in the former than in the latter. Conclusively, the coleoptile length under a certain NaCl stress might be used to screen salt-tolerant wheat cultivars.

RESEARCH NOTES

Screening of Mutants and Construction of Mutant Population in Soybean “Nannong 86-4”

HAN Suo-Yi;ZHANG Heng-You;YANG Ma-Li;ZHAO Tuan-Jie;GAI Jun-Yi;YU De-Yue

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  2059-2062. 

Abstract ( 2074 )   PDF (1083KB) ( 1082 )   Save

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Soybean mutant population was constructed by treating the seeds of soybean “Nannong 86-4” with ⁶⁰Co γ rays and EMS respectively. In M₃ generations, 40 mutants of leaf, stalk, flower, seed and cotyledon were obtained by treatment of ⁶⁰Co γ rays, and 145 mutants by EMS. In addition, the mutants of protein and oil contents were obtained; there were 47 mutants with more than 5 percentages on protein content and 5 mutants with more than 5 percentages on total protein and oil content compared with control. These mutants will serve as new germplasm in breeding. The mutant population will be useful to study functional genomics in soybean.

Screening of Mutants with Rubisco Resistant to Oxidative Stress from a T-DNA Inserted Rice Population

ZHOU Wei;LIU Wen-Zhen;ZHANG Rong-Xian;LI Rui;ZHONG Liang;SUN Zong-Xiu;LU Wei

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  2063-2066. 

Abstract ( 1853 )   PDF (1213KB) ( 835 )   Save

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Sequencing of the rice genome is nearly complete; therefore, one of the most challenging goals now is to examine the function of its large number of genes. In this article, to get the details about the mechanism how Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (Rubisco) can keep stable under oxidative stress, we screen the mutant of Rubisco using materials from a T-DNA transposon inserted rice （Oryza sativa L. ssp. japonica cv. Zhonghua 11）transgenic population, by comparing the contents of Rubisco small subunit and large subunit different from these of rice mutants treated with MV (Methyl viologen), a ROS inducer in vivo. We use SDS-PAGE to determine the content of subunits of Rubisco. Compared with the control, Rubisco from the leaves of the mutants had obvious difference in small subunit （SSU）content. We also determined mutants’ and the wild-type’s SPAD of leaves as a relative value of chlorophyll content, to compare the leaf senescence speed under oxidative stress. With this method we got two mutants whose Rubisco showed different tolerance to oxidative stress, demonstrating that this method of screening mutants is viable.

Characteristics of Photosynthate Transportation and Distribution at Seedling Stage after Transplanting in Rice

REN Wan-Jun;ZHANG Huai-Yu;YANG Wen-Yu;FAN Gao-Qiong;LIU Dai-Yin

Acta Agron Sin. 2007, 33(12):  2067-2070. 

Abstract ( 1632 )   PDF (1179KB) ( 884 )   Save

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The experiment was conducted using three rice hybrid combinations by ³H-isotope tracer technique. The results showed that at 10 days after labeling, 7.6%–9.8% of ³H-assimilates of stem and sheath labeled at 4 days after transplanting transported to new roots, 6.7%–15.6% to new leaf blades of main stem, and 6.9%–9.9% to the stem and leaf of tillers; at 30 days after labeling, about 12% to new roots, and 10%–14% to the stem and leaf of tillers. The ³H-assimilates of redistribution during 10–30 days after labeling was mainly from stem and sheath of main stem, and imported to tillers and new roots. There was 19%–28% of leaf-labeled-³H-assimilates distributed to new leaves of main stem at 10 days after labeling, and about 4.6%–13.4% to tillers, moreover, still 3%–5% to new roots. Gangyou 22 had a higher percentage of ³H-assimilates distributed to main stem, Kyou 047 had a higher percentage to tillers and Ⅱyou 162 had a higher percentage to new leaf blades.