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Table of Content

    12 December 2021, Volume 47 Issue 12
    • REVIEW
      Research progress on genetic regulatory mechanism of seed color in soybean (Glycine max)
      QIU Hong-Mei, CHEN Liang, HOU Yun-Long, WANG Xin-Feng, CHEN Jian, MA Xiao-Ping, CUI Zheng-Guo, ZHANG Ling, HU Jin-Hai, WANG Yue-Qiang, QIU Li-Juan
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2299-2313.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.14022
      Abstract ( 1350 )   HTML ( 104 )   PDF (2315KB) ( 1184 )   Save
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      The color of soybean seeds is an important morphological marker and evolutionary trait. During the process of domestication, seed coat has gradually evolved from black to yellow, green, black, brown, and bicolor, and cotyledons has evolved from green to yellow. The dark seed coat contains anthocyanins, which are natural pigments with medicinal and nutritional values. Therefore, it is of great importance to study the genetic regulation mechanism of seed color for evolutionary theory, variety breeding, and practical application. The pigment content and composition of seeds result in diverse seed coat colors through complex molecular regulatory mechanisms. In this paper, we described the research progress on genetic loci, related genes, regulatory mechanisms, and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways that controlling the color of soybean seeds. Specifically, we introduced the 9 classical genetic loci I, R, T, O, W1, K1, G, D1, D2, and related molecular markers, as well as the interactions between the loci; 22 related genes that controlling seed color, and the regulatory mechanisms of some allelic variants; as well as the physiological functions of the flavonoid biosynthesis pathways and major metabolites involved in the related genes. The progress of researches on genetic regulation of the color of seed coat, seed hilum, and cotyledon in soybean was reviewed, in addition the regulatory network was mapped with genetic loci, genes, allelic regulatory mechanisms, and flavonoid metabolic pathways, in order to provide references for the quality of seed appearance and genetic improvement of anthocyanin components.

      CROP GENETICS & BREEDING·GERMPLASM RESOURCES·MOLECULAR GENETICS
      Genome-wide identification of peanut resistance genes and their response to Ralstonia solanacearum infection
      ZHANG Huan, LUO Huai-Yong, LI Wei-Tao, GUO Jian-Bin, CHEN Wei-Gang, ZHOU Xiao-Jing, HUANG Li, LIU Nian, YAN Li-Ying, LEI Yong, LIAO Bo-Shou, JIANG Hui-Fang
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2314-2323.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.04266
      Abstract ( 716 )   HTML ( 27 )   PDF (589KB) ( 1567 )   Save
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      Peanut is one of the main oil crops, which is harmed by many pathogenic microorganisms during growth and development period. Breeding and selection of disease-resistant varieties is one of the most economical and effective ways to control disease, and disease resistance genes are important genes for plant resistance to pathogenic microorganisms. Here, the whole genome-wide identification of peanut disease resistance genes was carried out for the first time. A total of 4156 candidate disease resistance genes were identified. Among them, 536, 490, 232, 182, and 149 genes were RLK, RLP, NL, CNL, and TNL, respectively. The distribution of disease resistance genes was uneven on chromosomes, and most of them were concentrated on chromosome B02. Transcriptome profiling revealed that 111 genes were specifically expressed in resistant materials, 104 genes were specifically expressed in susceptible materials, 2216 genes were expressed in both resistant and susceptible materials, while 1725 genes were not expressed in both resistant and susceptible materials. Two kinds of differentiate expressed R genes were identified, including five genes in the first group responded to the infection of Ralstonia solanacearum at specific time and 65 genes in the second group which exhibited higher expressions in resistant cultivar than susceptible cultivar. A candidate gene Arahy.5D95TJ was successfully validated by qRT-PCR. In this study, the identification and analysis of peanut disease resistance genes provides the important reference for further research of their functions and molecular breeding of peanut disease resistance.

      DNA methylation in response to cadmium stress and expression of different methylated genes in kenaf
      LU Hai, LI Zeng-Qiang, TANG Mei-Qiong, LUO Deng-Jie, CAO Shan, YUE Jiao, HU Ya-Li, HUANG Zhen, CHEN Tao, CHEN Peng
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2324-2334.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.04269
      Abstract ( 545 )   HTML ( 31 )   PDF (376KB) ( 830 )   Save
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      DNA methylation is one of the important epigenetic modifications in plants and plays an important role in response to stress. However, there are few reports of the changes of DNA methylation levels in plants under cadmium stress. The seedlings of kenaf P3A were treated with 300 μmol L-1 CdCl2 by hydroponics, the agronomic traits and cadmium contents were investigated. The changes of DNA methylation level of root under cadmium stress were analyzed by using methylation sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) method. In addition, the differential methylation fragments were recovered, cloned, and sequenced. The relative expression levels of differential methylated genes revealed that Cd stress significantly inhibited the plant height, stem diameter, root length, root surface area, and total fresh weight of kenaf seedlings. The whole DNA methylation ratio in root was 68.23% and 62.78% under cadmium and control treatments, respectively. Among them the total methylation ratio was 37.50% and 36.36%, and the semi-methylation ratio was 25.28% and 31.87%, respectively. These results indicated that cadmium stress significantly increased the DNA methylation level of roots DNA. Seven differential methylated genes which involved in stress resistance were characterized differentially expressed under cadmium stress, suggesting that the change of DNA methylation played an important role in response to cadmium stress. This study provides a theoretical basis for further exploring the potential mechanism of DNA methylation in response to cadmium stress in plants.

      Evaluation and molecular detection of three major diseases resistance of new bred wheat varieties (lines) from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River
      LYU Guo-Feng, BIE Tong-De, WANG Hui, ZHAO Ren-Hui, FAN Jin-Ping, ZHANG Bo-Qiao, WU Su-Lan, WANG Ling, WANG Zun-Jie, GAO De-Rong
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2335-2347.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.01097
      Abstract ( 612 )   HTML ( 29 )   PDF (2377KB) ( 881 )   Save
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      Fusarium head blight (FHB), powdery mildew (PM), and wheat yellow mosaic virus (WYMV) are three major diseases of wheat in the lower reaches of Yangtze River. The resistance to FHB, PM, and WYMV of 49 new bred wheat varieties (advanced lines) from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River were evaluated, and the molecular markers linked to FHB resistance QTL Fhb1 and QFhs.crc-2D, PM gene Pm21 and WYMV resistance QTL QYm.nau-5A.1 and QYm.nau-2D were used to detect the correspond resistance genes/QTLs. 49.0% of the varieties were above moderate resistance to FHB, 32.6% varieties were immune or resistant to PM, and 44.9% varieties were resistant to WYMV. 30.6% and 73.6% of the tested varieties contained Fhb1 and QFhs.crc-2D, respectively. Ningmai 9 and Yangmai 158 as well as their derived varieties were the main carriers of Fhb1 and QFhs.crc-2D, respectively. Pm21, a powdery mildew resistant gene, was detected in 28.6% of the tested varieties, Zhenmai 9 and Yangmai 18 were two major donors of Pm21. QYm.nau-5A.1 and QYm.nau-2D, two MYMV resistant QTL, were detected in 24.5% of the tested varieties. Ningmai 9 and Zhenmai 9 were two major QTL donors. The composition of resistance genes/QTLs to FHB and WYMV in Yangmai 158 and their derived varieties diverged from Ningmai 9 and its derived varieties. These results provide the important information for molecular breeding for wheat disease resistance in lower reaches of Yangtze River.

      Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of potato GAUT gene family
      NIU Na, LIU Zhen, HUANG Peng-Xiang, ZHU Jin-Yong, LI Zhi-Tao, MA Wen-Jing, ZHANG Jun-Lian, BAI Jiang-Ping, LIU Yu-Hui
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2348-2361.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.04268
      Abstract ( 671 )   HTML ( 46 )   PDF (3346KB) ( 968 )   Save
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      Galacturonyltransferases (GAUTs) are enzymes responsible for catalyzing glycosylation reactions and play an important role in the growth and development of plant. In this study, GAUT genes family members in potato (StGAUT) were identified, and their physical and chemical characteristics, distribution on chromosomes, gene structure, conserved motifs, gene duplication events, and expression patterns were analyzed. The results showed that a total of 41 StGAUTs were identified and distributed extensively and unevenly on 10 chromosomes. According to their structural and phylogenetic protein features, these 41 StGAUT genes were divided into four subclasses. Collinearity analysis indicated that 12 pairs of StGAUTs were segmental duplication genes, and these gene pairs evolved under purifying selection. RNA-seq data of different tissues and abiotic stresses were used to analyze tissue-specific and abiotic stress-responses of the StGAUT genes in doubled monoploid potato (DM). Results revealed that StGAUT genes might be involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis in three different-colored potato cultivars based on RNA-seq data. The results provide valuable information regarding further functional elucidation of StGAUT genes in potato.

      Genetic diversity analysis of silage corn varieties based on agronomic and quality traits and SSR markers
      LIU Shao-Rong, YANG Yang, TIAN Hong-Li, YI Hong-Mei, WANG Lu, KANG Ding-Ming, FANG Ya-Ming, REN Jie, JIANG Bin, GE Jian-Rong, CHENG Guang-Lei, WANG Feng-Ge
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2362-2370.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.03074
      Abstract ( 520 )   HTML ( 34 )   PDF (530KB) ( 717 )   Save
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      Silage corn is a high-quality feed crop, which is of great significance to the vigorous development of animal husbandry. In order to explore the current status of genetic diversity of silage corn varieties, 141 silage corn varieties approved by national or provincial (municipal) were used as materials. From the perspective of ecological regions, the genetic diversity of the test varieties was analyzed by agronomic and quality traits and SSR markers. The results showed that the coefficient of variation of the 13 agronomic and quality traits ranged from 10.30% to 30.31%, with an average of 16.01%; the diversity index ranged from 0.50 to 0.71, with an average of 0.60. According to the cluster analysis of tested varieties based on agronomic and quality traits, all the varieties were divided into five groups, and most of them from the same ecological region were classified into the same group. A total of 482 allelic variants were detected for 40 SSR markers, with an average of 12.05 per locus, and the polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.27 to 0.89, with an average of 0.68. The genetic distances between South varieties and Northeast, Huang-Huai-Hai, or Northwest varieties are relatively far with a value of 0.054, 0.047, and 0.046, respectively, and most of South varieties are clustered in the same group. The analysis results of the two methods show both commonalities and differences. South varieties show specificity in both agronomic and quality traits and SSR markers, while Northwest and Huang-Huai-Hai varieties show specificity only in agronomic and quality traits. Combination of the two methods can thus help us understand the genetic background of silage corn varieties more comprehensively and accurately, and provide basis and reference for the selection and promotion of new varieties in different ecological regions.

      Virus-mediated expression of GFP-ATG8 for autophagy monitoring in wheat
      HU Rui-Jie, YANG Xiang-Yun, JIA Lei, LI Yu-Ru, XIANG Yue, YUE Jie-Yu, WANG Hua-Zhong
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2371-2378.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.01094
      Abstract ( 590 )   HTML ( 22 )   PDF (5858KB) ( 472 )   Save
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      ATG8 is an essential autophagy-related factor decorating on the membranes of autophagic structures. Fluorescence protein-tagged ATG8 expressed in live cells has been widely used to visualize autophagic structures and to monitor the activity of autophagy. Virus-mediated over-expression (VOX) is a simple technique for rapid expression of genes of interest in plants. Here the foxtail mosaic virus (FoMV)-based VOX was adopted for preparation of wheat seedlings over-expressing the GFP-tagged form of the wheat ATG8 family member TaATG8a. An FoMV-VOX vector was constructed for expression of the recombinant FoMV genomic RNA carrying the GFP-TaATG8a sequence. Expression of FoMV genomic RNA and assembly of FoMV virions were accomplished in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves through agroinfiltration. N. benthamiana leave extract containing FoMV virions was used to inoculate leaves of wheat seedlings. Fluorescence microscopy of virus-inoculated wheat seedlings showed the efficient expression of GFP-TaATG8a was in not only inoculated leaves but also systemic uninoculated leaves and roots. Moreover, punctate fluorescence of GFP-TaATG8a representing autophagic structures was clearly observed in leaf epidermal cells, mesophyll cells, and root cells of wheat seedlings subjected to autophagy-stimulating starvation stress. The autophagy activity in these cells could be evaluated by quantifying the GFP-TaATG8a-labeled autophagic structures. These results lay a foundation for studies of the regulating mechanisms and physiological roles of autophagy in various wheat tissues.

      Identification of upstream regulators for mitogen-activated protein kinase 7 gene (BnMAPK7) in rapeseed (Brassica napus L.)
      WANG Zhen, ZHANG Xiao-Li, MENG Xiao-Jing, YAO Meng-Nan, MIU Wen-Jie, YUAN Da-Shuang, ZHU Dong-Ming, QU Cun-Min, LU Kun, LI Jia-Na, LIANG Ying
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2379-2393.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.04280
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      Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) cascade plays a key role in plant growth and development, division, differentiation, apoptosis, and stress resistance. In this study, a 1612 bp promoter of C group BnMAPK7 gene, designated ProBnMAPK7, was cloned from Brassica napus. Promoter structure prediction by PlantCARE revealed that ProBnMAPK7 contained a lot of ACE, MRE, ABRE, TGACG-motif, and TC-rich repeats cis-acting elements, which involved in light, hormones, defense, and wounding responsiveness. At the same time, we analyzed the expression patterns of MAPK7 genes in Arabidopsis and B. napus, and found that MAPK7 played an important regulatory role in growth and development process and responding to biotic and abiotic stresses. Different lengths of ProBnMAPK7 were gradually ligated to the pCambia1305.1-GUS expression vector to identify the core fragment. GUS histochemical staining analysis showed that the core fragment of ProBnMAPK7 was located in the -467 to -239 bp (ProBnMAPK7-rPE) region. Three copies of the promoter core fragment were integrated into the genome of Y1H gold to test the AbA background. The data demonstrated that the expression background of ProBnMAPK7-rPE in yeast cells was completely inhibited by 500 ng mL-1 AbA. Using yeast one-hybrid, we screened the library of the upstream regulatory factors of BnMAPK7, and obtained three candidates, including BnNAD1B (NADH dehydrogenase 1B), BnERD6 (early response to dehydration 6), and BnPIG3 (quinone oxidoreductase PIG3-like). Taken together, these results suggested that BnNAD1B, BnERD6, and BnPIG3 might bind to ProBnMAPK7-rPE to regulate the transcription of BnMAPK7, to further involve in photosynthesis and responding to stresses. This study lays a foundation for further elucidating the function of BnMAPK7 in rapeseed, and provides a new perspective for research into MAPKs cascade.

      Identification and relative expression analysis of CBF gene family in Brassica napus L.
      XIE Pan, LIU Wei, KANG Yu, HUA Wei, QIAN Lun-Wen, GUAN Chun-Yun, HE Xin
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2394-2406.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.04259
      Abstract ( 761 )   HTML ( 55 )   PDF (3335KB) ( 828 )   Save
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      Low temperature is an important environmental stress factor affecting plant growth and development. The ICE1-CBF-COR [inducer of CBF expression1-c-repeat (CRT)-binding factors-cold responsive] plays an important role in the signaling pathway in response to low temperature stress in plants. To explore the evolution of CBF gene in Brassica napus L. and its function in response to low temperature stress, 11, 6, and 6 CBF genes were detected from Brassica napus, Brassica rapa, and Brassica oleracea, respectively. In addition, the molecular characteristics, protein conserved domains, phylogenetic tree, gene structure, and chromosome distribution were systematically investigated. The results showed that 11 BnaCBF genes could be divided into two subgroups including Subgroup I (CBF1/2/3) and Subgroup II (CBF4). Transcriptome sequencing revealed that all the CBF genes of Brassica napus were induced by low temperature, among which four genes in subgroup Ib responded rapidly and durably to cold stress, and two genes in Subgroup II responded weakly to cold stress, however, the relative expression level of CBF genes in roots was significantly higher than that in leaves, which were involved in salt stress and osmotic stress responses. Further analysis demonstrated that the CBF gene family in Brassica napus responded more strongly to freezing stress, especially BnaA08G30930D, BnaCnng49280D, BnaAnng34260D, BnaC07g39680D in Subsection I, and BnaA10g07630D, BnaC09G28190D in Subsection II. This study lays a foundation for further understanding the biological function of the CBF family gene and its response to low temperature, especially freezing stress in Brassica napus., and provides a reference for bioinformation research of CBF family genes in other species.

      Screening candidate genes related to aluminum toxicity stress at germination stage via RNA-seq and QTL mapping in Brassica napus L.
      WANG Rui-Li, WANG Liu-Yan, LEI Wei, WU Jia-Yi, SHI Hong-Song, LI Chen-Yang, TANG Zhang-Lin, LI Jia-Na, ZHOU Qing-Yuan, CUI Cui
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2407-2422.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.04231
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      With the aggravation of soil acidification, aluminum toxicity has become one of the important stress factors affecting seed germination quality and crop yield. In order to study the molecular mechanism of the effect of aluminum toxicity on rapeseed seed germination, a total of 9344 significantly differentially expressed genes [log2 (fold change) ≥ 1 and FDR ≤ 0.05] were detected in the transcriptome analysis of aluminum-tolerant strain 18D300 and aluminum-sensitive strain 27011 by RNA-seq technology, among which 4406 DEGs (differentially expressed genes) were up-regulated and 4938 DEGs were down-regulated. GO enrichment showed that DEGs were mainly related to oxidation reaction, carbohydrate metabolism, and transporter activity. KEGG enrichment revealed that DEGs were mainly concentrated in phenylpropane biosynthesis, starch and sucrose metabolism, MAPK signal pathway-plant, plant-pathogen interaction, plant hormone signal transduction and so on. In addition, 44 DEGs (10 down-regulated and 34 up-regulated) were screened by integrating the results of RNA transcriptome sequencing and QTL mapping of root-related traits at germination stage under aluminum toxicity stress in rapeseed, which were mainly related to oxidative stress, osmotic regulation, cell wall modification, transporter, and hormone signal transduction.

      Prediction of drought and salt stress-related genes in rice based on multi-platform gene expression data
      LIU Ya-Wen, ZHANG Hong-Yan, CAO Dan, LI Lan-Zhi
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2423-2439.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.02084
      Abstract ( 949 )   HTML ( 48 )   PDF (3476KB) ( 700 )   Save
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      Mining stress-related genes based on multi-platform gene expression data in rice can increase the reliability of key genes prediction and obtain more universally meaningful results. In this study, 94 affymetrix microarray data and 42 RNA-seq transcriptome data related to rice abiotic stress were collected from NCBI databases. First, multiple datasets related to the same stress on the same type were fused by data conversion method to obtain the affymetrix data set D_affy and RNA-seq data set D_rnaseq related to drought stress, and the affymetrix data set S_affy and the RNA-seq data set S_rnaseq related to salt stress. Then, the four datasets were analyzed by the classical WGCNA method based on Pearson's linear correlation coefficient and the improved WGCNA method based on the MIC nonlinear correlation coefficient respectively, and the eight Hub gene sets related to stress were obtained. Further, the integration analysis of stress-related Hub genes yielded the final 1936 drought stress-related Hub genes and 1504 salt stress-related Hub genes. Finally, the biological significance of Hub gene was analyzed from multiple perspectives, including prediction performance, enrichment analysis, literature report, STRING online interaction analysis, and Cytoscape visualization analysis. The results revealed that the overall prediction performance of Hub genes was better, and most of them were enriched in the pathways related to drought/salt stress. Among them, there were 31 drought stress response genes and 22 salt stress response genes reported in the literatures. In addition, 11 drought stress candidate genes and 5 salt stress candidate genes were predicted using the interaction analysis of Hub genes. In conclusion, This study provides a new idea for the effective analysis of “high-dimensional, small-sample” crop gene sequencing data, and the experimental results provide a reference for the study of stress-resistant rice varieties.

      TILLAGE & CULTIVATION·PHYSIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
      Analysis of main quality index of corn harvesting with combine in China
      WANG Ke-Ru, LI Lu-Lu, GAO Shang, WANG Yi-Zhou, HUANG Zhao-Fu, XIE Rui-Zhi, MING Bo, HOU Peng, XUE Jun, ZHANG Guo-Qiang, HOU Liang-Yu, LI Shao-Kun
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2440-2449.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.03046
      Abstract ( 849 )   HTML ( 37 )   PDF (1541KB) ( 782 )   Save
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      Mechanical harvest of corn grains is of major importance for China’s corn production. In this study, we used data from a total of 155 experimental sites to study mechanical grain harvest in 21 major corn producing provinces, cities, or autonomous regions in China from 2012 to 2019. Corn hybrids suitable for mechanical grain harvest were selected and field tests of mechanical harvest quality were carried out. A total of 865 corn varieties (hybrid combinations) were tested, and 8961 samples of mechanically harvested grain were obtained from 2987 tests. The harvested grains were assessed for grain quality to provide a basis for developing mechanical harvest corn in China. Results showed that, on the average, moisture content of harvested grain was 25.91%, grain breakage rate was 7.96%, impurity rate was 1.18%, and loss rate was 3.54%. Additionally, the ear loss accounted for 76.5% of the total harvest losses. Compared with the test data from 2012 to 2015, the quality of corn harvest in China had been significantly improved in recent years, with the average moisture content of harvested grains decreasing by an average of 0.78 percentage point every year and the average grain breakage rate decreasing by an average of 0.51 percent every year between 2015 and 2019. Compared with data of corn harvest of the United States between 2011 and 2019, the average moisture content of harvested corn from the present study was 9.5 percentage points higher, and the breakage rate and impurity rate were also significantly higher. Further analysis showed that both grain breakage rate and impurity rate were positively correlated with the grain moisture content. Additionally, grain breakage rate was the lowest when grain moisture content was 19.06%. Cross regarding different corn producing regions, the grain moisture content and grain breakage rate were the highest in the Huang-Huai-Hai summer corn region and lowest in the Northern China spring corn region, with medium values in the Northwestern China spring corn region and the Northeastern China spring corn region. The findings suggested that, in China, it was necessary to reduce the grain breakage rate, impurity rate, combine losses, and improve the harvest quality by breeding corn varieties with fast grain dehydration, low grain moisture content, and strong stalk stand ability at harvest stage, as well as by appropriately matching the dehydration characteristics of corn varieties with regional climate characteristics, improving the performance of harvesting machinery, and harvesting at the most appropriate time.

      Water use efficiency of several water-intensive crops in Hebei province in recent 20 years
      SHI Meng-Xia, ZHANG Jia-Xiao, SHI Xiao-Yu, CHU Qing-Quan, CHEN Fu, LEI Yong-Deng
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2450-2458.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.01086
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      In recent years, the large-scale planting of water-intensive crops is one of the important reasons for the increasing shortage of agricultural water resources in Hebei province. Based on the meteorological data and crop growth period data of 21 national standard meteorological stations in Hebei province from 1999 to 2018, this study calculates the water demand, effective precipitation, irrigation water demand and precipitation coupling degree of winter wheat, summer maize, apple, pear, watermelon, grape and other water-intensive crops in Hebei province by Penman-Monteith formula and piecewise single value average crop coefficient method. The spatial and temporal variations of crop water use in Hebei province were comprehensively analyzed from the perspectives of water use efficiency (WUE), irrigation water use efficiency (WUEI), nutrient water use efficiency (WUEN), and economic water use efficiency (WUEE). The results revealed that the water requirement of fruit crops was higher than that of grain crops. The water requirement for crop irrigation from large to small was apple, pear, winter wheat, grape, watermelon, and summer maize. During the growth period, the largest effective precipitation was apple and pear, and the lowest was winter wheat; the precipitation coupling degree of summer maize was the highest, followed by watermelon; the precipitation coupling degree of all crops indicated an upward trend in the past 20 years except for winter wheat. The WUE, WUEI, and WUEE of fruit crops were higher than those of grain crops, particularly, WUEE of fruit crops was 10 times higher than that of grain crops. In contrast, the WUEN of grain crops was higher than that of fruit crops. The comprehensive analysis of various crop water use efficiency provides valuable insights for optimizing cropping systems and achieving agricultural water sustainability in Hebei province.

      Effects of row space and plant density on characteristics of grain filling, starch and NPK accumulation of sorghum grain of different parts of panicle
      DONG Er-Wei, WANG Jin-Song, WU Ai-Lian, WANG Yuan, WANG Li-Ge, HAN Xiong, GUO Jun, JIAO Xiao-Yan
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2459-2470.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.04252
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      Row space and plant density not only affect plant phenotype and field ecological environment but also regulate grain yield and the characteristics of grain-filling. The experiments were conducted for two years from 2018 to 2019 to investigate the effects of row space and plant density on grain yield and its composition using ‘Liaoxialiang 1’ as materials, which was bred by Liaoning Academy of Agricultural Sciences. In 2019, the effects of row space and plant density on grain filling characteristics, starch and NPK accumulation per grain of different (upper, middle, and lower) parts of panicles were explored. There were 12 treatments, including three row spaces such as 30, 50, and 60 cm and four plant densities of 135, 165, 195, and 225 thousand-plant hm-2 with each row space. The highest grain yield per hectare and grain yield of three parts of per panicle were produced by the 50 cm row space with 165 thousand-plant hm-2density for 12 treatments. The yield of upper part per panicle was lower than those of other two parts; whereas it had relative high values of weight and starch per grain. Row space 50 cm with density of 165 thousand-plant hm-2 prolonged active grain-filling period of upper part of panicle. It also increased the maximum grain-filling rate and shortened active grain-filling period of lower part of panicle. Both row spaces of 50 cm and 60 cm promoted starch accumulation per grain of three parts of panicle during grain development; whereas 30 cm resulted in a prolonged active grain-filling period of lower part of panicle, which was associated with a reduced grain-filling rate. This might illustrate that relative wide row space accelerate lower part grain maturity and refrain from the effect of early frost on yield, brought about a higher grain-filling rate. Both N and P accumulation per grain increased during grain filling process; Meanwhile K accumulation reached ceiling at 30-40 days after anthesis and declined afterwards, because of K leakage from grain during its maturation. NPK and starch accumulation per grain in upper part of panicle were relatively high than those of other two parts of panicle. It implied the grain of upper panicle had a larger seed size as well. Compared with 30 cm row space, 50 cm and 60 cm row spaces increased NPK accumulation per grain of three parts. High NPK accumulation per grain was produced by the treatment of 50 cm row space with the density of 165 thousand-plant hm-2. In conclusion, wide row space can promote seed size of grain and starch accumulation. The increased grain-filling rate of lower part of panicle (inferior kernels) by wide row space can diminish the risk of natural calamity of early frost.

      Effects of salinity stress on spikelets formation and grains filling in rice (Oryza sativa L.)
      WEI Huan-He, ZHANG Xu-Bin, GE Jia-Lin, CHEN Xi, MENG Tian-Yao, YANG Yang, XIONG Fei, CHEN Ying-Long, DAI Qi-Gen
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2471-2480.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.02083
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      This study was conducted to explore the effects of salinity stress on spikelets formation and grains filling in rice. To analyze the effects of salinity stress on the differentiation and degradation of spikelets, development of floral organs, and grain-filling characteristics in rice, conventional japonica rice Nanjing 9108 and Yandao 12 were used with three salinity treatments under pot-cultivation conditions, control (CK, 0 salt concentration), medium-salinity stress (MS, 0.15% salt concentration), and high-salinity stress (HS, 0.3% salt concentration). As a result, compared with the CK, (1) rice grain yield was decreased under salinity stress. The grain yield of Nanjing 9108 was decreased by 18.7% and 54.5%, and Yandao 12 was decreased by 24.3% and 58.6%, under MS and HS treatments, respectively. (2) the number of spikelets per panicle was decreased under salinity stress. The number of spikelets per panicle of Nanjing 9108 was 8.6% and 19.8%, and Yandao 12 was 8.0% and 25.9% lower than that of CK under MS and HS treatments, respectively. Besides, the filled-grain percentage and grain weight of Nanjing 9108 and Yandao 12 under MS and HS were also significantly lower than CK. (3) the number of differentiated and survived spikelets was decreased, while the number of retrograded spikelets and its rate was increased under salinity stress. Salinity stress reduced the differentiated and survived spikelets on the primary and secondary branches, while increased retrograded spikelets. The decline in the number of differentiated and survived spikelets on the secondary branches were higher than those of primary branches, and the similar observations were also for the increase in the number of retrograded spikelets. (4) the length, width, and volume of anther were decreased under salinity stress, and the similar trends were also observed for dehiscence rate of anther, pollen vigor, and the length and width of spikelets. Our results suggested that, salinity stress could inhibit the differentiation of rice spikelets and promote the degradation of spikelets, resulting in a significant decrease in the number of spikelets per panicle; it adversely affected the development of floral organs and reduced the fullness of grains, which significantly deteriorated the characteristics of grain plumpness.

      Synchronously higher planting density can increase yield via optimizing interspecific interaction of intercropped wheat and maize
      ZHANG Jin-Dan, FAN Hong, DU Jin-Yong, YIN Wen, FAN Zhi-Long, HU Fa-Long, CHAI Qiang
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2481-2489.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.01090
      Abstract ( 617 )   HTML ( 34 )   PDF (1570KB) ( 602 )   Save
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      Increasing planting density is the main measure for high yield in intercropping. It is of great significance for the theory and technology of enhancing intercropping system to investigate the effects of intercrop’s density changes on the interspecific interaction and yield. In 2018 and 2019, a field experiment was carried out in Hexi oasis irrigation area, with three cropping patterns of monocropping maize, monocropping wheat, wheat-maize intercropping, and three maize densities of 45,000 plants hm-2 (traditional), 60,000 plants hm-2 (medium), 75,000 plants hm-2 (high), and two wheat densities of 2.84 million grains hm-2 (traditional) and 3.41 million grains hm-2 (high). The effect of synchronously higher planting densities of wheat and maize on inter-specific relationship and yield of intercropping system was studied. The results showed that the densities of intercropped wheat and maize were increased simultaneously, which strengthened the competitiveness of wheat relative to maize (Awm) during the co-growth period. For the intercropped wheat, compared to traditional planting density, high density increased the Awm by 10.9%-20.1%. For the intercropping maize, compared to traditional planting density, high density and medium density improved the Awm by 25.3%-32.0% and 15.8%-17.3%, respectively. In addition, compared to intercropped wheat and maize with traditional density, synchronously higher planting density for intercropped wheat and maize increased the Awm by 35.5%-56.5%. The simultaneous increase of the density of intercropped wheat and maize could increase the recovery growth effect of intercropped maize (Rm) after the intercropped wheat harvested. For the intercropped wheat, compared to traditional planting density, high density increased the Rm by 14.6%-17.1%. For the intercropping maize, compared to traditional planting density, high density and medium density improved Rm by 27.4%-48.5% and 10.3%-30.5%, respectively. In addition, compared to intercropped wheat and maize with traditional density, synchronously higher planting density for intercropped wheat and maize increased Rm by 43.7%-65.5%. Increasing planting density was conducive to improve the advantage of intercropping. The land equivalent ratio of high-density for both intercropped wheat and maize was 8.3%-10.8% higher than that of intercropped wheat and maize with traditional density. The simultaneous increase in the density of intercropped wheat and maize could further improve the advantage of intercropping. For the intercropped wheat, compared to traditional planting density, high density increased the grain yield of intercropping system by 3.6%-5.1%. For the intercropping maize, compared to traditional planting density, high density and medium density improved grain yield of intercropping system by 14.1%-19.3% and 7.3%-15.2%, respectively. Synchronously higher planting density for intercropped wheat and maize had greater grain yield of intercropping system by 19.0%-24.0% than that of intercropped wheat and maize with traditional density. A positive relationship was observed between total grain yield of intercropping system and the competitiveness of wheat relative to maize and the recovery growth of intercropped maize after intercropped wheat harvest. In conclusion, synchronously higher planting density could increase grain yield via optimizing interspecific interaction of intercropped wheat and maize. Our results revealed that 4.5 million grains hm-2 of wheat and 75,000 plants hm-2 of maize were the suitable planting densities for high yield of wheat and maize in intercropping system in oasis irrigation area.

      Effects of exogenous jasmonic acid on photosynthetic characteristics and cadmium accumulation of Helianthus tuberosus L. under cadmium stress
      ZHANG Yun, WANG Dan-Mei, WANG Xiao-Yuan, REN Qing-Wen, TANG Ke, ZHANG Li-Yu, WU Yu-Huan, LIU Peng
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2490-2500.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.04246
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      Revealing the effects of exogenous jasmonic acid (JA) on the photosynthetic characteristics and Cadmium (Cd), a toxic pollutant, accumulation in Helianthus tuberosus L. under Cd stress can provide a practical basis for remedying soil heavy metal contamination. In this study, seedlings from Yulin (with strong Cd-tolerance) and Chengdu Helianthus tuberosus cultivars (with weak Cd-tolerance) were selected for pot culture experiments. These seedlings were treated with 25 μmol L-1 JA by foliar application to explore the alleviation effects of exogenous jasmonic acid under different degrees of Cd stress, with concentrations of low, medium, and high levels (75, 150, and 300 mg kg-1). The results showed that compared with other groups, JA had improved the height of Chengdu seedlings under the low Cd stress group, which was 1.26 times higher than that in CK group and reached to its maximum. But the height of Yulin seedlings did not change to a great extent. In addition, the leaf area, root length, and dry weight of both groups allexhibited an upward trend. The chlorophyll content (SPAD value) of Yulin seedlings had reached the maximum value on the 7th day in JA relieved low Cd group, which was 1.27 times of Cd stress group, and Chengdu seedlings had cost 21 days to reach its peak value under the same conditions. Beyond that, the initial fluorescence (F0) of each Cd group almost reduced to normal level, the maximum photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) rised up significantly, the photochemical quenching coefficient (qP) and the electron transfer rate (ETR) increased obviously, but the non-photochemical quenching coefficient (qN) decreased to CK group level. At the same time, the net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), and transpiration rate (Tr) had maintained upward trends, but the intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) had decreased. The concentrations of Cd in each organ of these Helianthus tuberosus cultivars under the stress groups were in the order of root > leaf > stem. Except stem, the bioconcentration factors (BCF) of other tissues were all more than one, and the translocation factors (TF) were less than one. Through the laser confocal microscope, the fluorescence signal of Cd ions around the stomata was significantly faded. In conclusion, exogenous JA could increase the content of chlorophyll and prevent the structure of chloroplast from being damaged. The net photosynthetic rate and photosynthetic carbon assimilation efficiency were enhanced, which had increased the accumulation of dry matter and had improved the resistance of seedlings to Cd stress. JA signal had reduced the absorption and transportation of cadmium, which alleviated the Cd toxicity to the plants. This study provides the theoretical basis for planting Helianthus tuberosus to repair cadmium contaminated soil.

      Spatial distribution of Chinese grain production in the past 30 years based on geomorphological division
      WANG Kai-Cheng, HAN Tong, ZANG Hua-Dong, CHEN Fu, BO Xiao-Zhi, CHU Qing-Quan
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2501-2510.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.03068
      Abstract ( 472 )   HTML ( 16 )   PDF (906KB) ( 565 )   Save
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      Revealing the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of grain production in China and its matching with arable land and agricultural resources was of great significance to rationally utilize land and improve the comprehensive land production capacity of land, and guarantee the national food security and ecological security. In this study, we quantitatively analyzed the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of Chinese grain production based on geomorphological division using the grain production data of county regions via ArcGIS spatial analysis method from 1985 to 2015 in China. The results were as follows: (1) From 1985 to 2015, the plain areas produced an average of 42.7% of the country’s grain with 22.9% of the country’s land area. It was followed by mountains, terraces, and hills, accounting for 25.5%, 17.2%, and 14.7% of the country’s grain on average, respectively. In addition, grain production tended to be concentrated in plain and platform areas. In the past 30 years, the grain production concentration in plain areas had increased by 3.8%, while that in mountainous areas had decreased by 4.4%. (2) In the four geomorphological divisions, the average production of rice, wheat, maize, and soybean in the plain area accounted for 30.6%, 63.3%, 46.9%, and 40.7% in recent 30 years, while potato production in the mountainous areas reached 54.1%. The production of rice, wheat, and maize all showed a tendency to concentrate in the plain areas, while the concentration of soybean and potato in the hills and mountain was increased. (3) In the past 30 years, the magnitude of the change for grain production among different geomorphological divisions was greater than that of planting area, and the variation of grain production in difference geomorphological divisions increased. In conclusion, in the future optimization of regional crop layout and the formulation of regional grain production technology strategy, not only the change of climate resources and social and economic conditions should be considered, but also the change of terrain and landform and their different requirements for agricultural machinery, soil tillage, and other technologies should be taken into account.

      RESEARCH NOTES
      Effects of commercial organic fertilizer substituting chemical fertilizer partially on soil nutrients, plant development, and yield in cotton
      LU He-Quan, TANG Wei, LUO Zhen, KONG Xiang-Qiang, LI Zhen-Huai, XU Shi-Zhen, XIN Cheng-Song
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2511-2521.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.04279
      Abstract ( 570 )   HTML ( 21 )   PDF (500KB) ( 366 )   Save
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      The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of commercial organic fertilizer replacing partial chemical fertilizer on soil nutrients, plant development, and yield in cotton, and to assess the feasibility of achieving stable yield by reducing chemical fertilizer, thus providing theoretical basis and technical support for scientific fertilization and soil nutrient improvement in Yellow River Basin. A three-year field experiment from 2016 to 2018 was carried out using variety K836 with five treatments including no fertilizer (NF), traditional chemical fertilizer (NPK), commercial organic fertilizer (COF), traditional chemical fertilizer plus commercial organic fertilizer (NPK+COF), and traditional chemical fertilizer reduction 30% plus commercial organic fertilizer (0.70NPK+COF) by a randomized blocks design at Linqing city of Shandong province. Results showed that 0.70NPK+COF increased soil nutrients, dry matter accumulation, leaf SPAD value, and LAI at different growth stages in cotton, and compared with NF, the yields were annually increased by 9.63%, 26.18%, and 59.96% during three years. Compared with NPK, 0.70NPK+COF increased soil organic matter, but there was no significant difference in alkaline hydrolysis nitrogen, available phosphorus, and potassium contents of soil, dry matter accumulation, leaf SPAD value, LAI, yield and yield components between 0.70NPK+COF and NPK. Both 0.70NPK+COF and NPK had similar yield of 3976-4105 kg hm-2 from 2016 to 2018; COF+NPK increased soil organic matter, LAI, and leaf SPAD value, but there was not significantly increase in yield and yield components compared with NPK and 0.70NPK+COF. In conclusion, replacing partial chemical fertilizer with commercial organic fertilizer (0.70NPK+COF) was an economic, environmental, and feasible fertilization method for increasing soil nutrients, promoting cotton growth, maintaining high and stable yield.

      Effects of combined application of organic materials and chemical fertilizers in barley-double cropping rice rotation system on barley resource utilization efficiency and yield
      ZHANG Fan, YANG Qian
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2522-2531.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.01101
      Abstract ( 564 )   HTML ( 15 )   PDF (463KB) ( 629 )   Save
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      Barley-double cropping rice rotation is a typical cropping system in the middle reaches of Yangtze River. Based on a 34-year long-term experiment, the effects of combined application of organic materials and chemical fertilizers reduction in barley-double cropping rice rotation system on utilization efficiency of solar radiation, GDD (growing degree days), and water resources, use efficiency of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium resources, and yield of barley were studied. The objective of this study is to provide the theoretical basis and data support for the fertilization management of barley-double cropping rice rotation system with efficient utilization of resources and stable yield and efficiency in barley. In this study, four fertilization treatments in the long-term positioning experiment were selected, including NPK chemical fertilizer treatment (NPK), NPK chemical fertilizer combined with rice straw treatment (NPK+straw), organic fertilizer nitrogen replacement 30% chemical nitrogen treatment (NPK+LOM), and organic fertilizer nitrogen replacement 60% chemical nitrogen treatment (NPK+HOM). To ensure that the N, P2O5 and K2O application rates of the fertilization treatments in the barley season and early rice season and late rice season, each treatment was based on the equal amount of nitrogen, and the insufficient nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers were supplemented with chemical fertilizers. The results were as follows: (1) Compared with NPK + straw treatment, radiation productive efficiency, accumulated heat productive efficiency, water productive efficiency of NPK+HOM treatment were significantly increased by 0.04 g MJ-1, 0.28 kg ℃-1 d-1 hm-2, 0.08 kg m-3, and the increase amplitude was 10.5%, 9.4%, and 9.6% (P < 0.05), respectively. (2) Compared with NPK+straw treatment, the partial productivity of N, P, and K in NPK+LOM treatment increased by 22.5%, 23.4%, and 23.5%, respectively (P < 0.05), and K harvest index increased by 36.7% (P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference of the NPK nutrient partial productivity and N harvest index between NPK+LOM and NPK+HOM treatments; (3) The analysis of stability and sustainability of barley yield indicated that NPK+straw treatment was beneficial to stable yield in barley; (4) The NPK+HOM treatment could improve soil fertility. On the whole, NPK+HOM treatment was superior to other fertilization structures in terms of the utilization of light and hot water resources and soil fertilization in barley; NPK+LOM treatment was better than other fertilization structures in the utilization of NPK nutrient resource in barley; Both NPK+LOM and NPK+HOM treatments could increase the yield of barley. Regarding the barley-double-cropping rice rotation model, combining straw to the field combined with organic fertilizer and chemical fertilizers to regulate the synergistic improvement of barley resource utilization and yield was one of the important research tasks in the future.

      Vegetation characteristics of GF-6 remote sensing image and application on LAI retrieval of winter wheat at seedling stage
      ZHANG Yu-Xun, QI Tuo-Ye, SUN Yuan, QU Xiang-Ning, CAO Yuan, WU Meng-Yao, LIU Chun-Hong, WANG Lei
      Acta Agronomica Sinica. 2021, 47(12):  2532-2540.  doi:10.3724/SP.J.1006.2021.11002
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      As Chinese first high-resolution satellite for precision agricultural observations, the GF-6 remote sensing satellite operates in a network with GF-1. In addition to having the same waveband as the GF-1 WFV sensor, red-edge band is added to the Chinese satellite firstly, which can effectively reflect the unique spectral characteristics of the crop. In order to evaluate the monitoring capabilities of the GF-6 satellite imagery for crops, the seedling stage of winter wheat was selected as the research object. Combined with the ground synchronous observation canopy spectrum and the LAI measured data, we analyzed the quantity of bands, the band spectrum and the features of the added red edge vegetation band of the GF-6 satellite image. Furthermore, we constructed vegetation indices by extracting reflectance data from GF-6 remote sensing images and made comparison between the inversion accuracy of the model established by the combination of different wavebands of GF-6 WFV sensor with the help of artificial neural network. Finally, the application ability of GF-6 WFV red edge band in inversing LAI of winter wheat at seeding stage was explored. The results showed that the GF-6 remote sensing image reflected the characteristics of vegetation more realistically. When inverting the winter wheat LAI, the two red-edge bands and the red-edge vegetation index data of the GF-6 WFV sensor were added, which greatly improved the accuracy of the winter wheat LAI inversion model at seedling stage, with the increased R2 of 12.48% and the decreased RMSE of 14.75%.

Co-sponsored:
the Crop Science Society of China
the Institute of Crop Science, CAAS
China Science Publishing & Media Ltd.
Published: Science Press
Editor-in-chief: Wan Jian-min
Associate Editors-in-Chief:
Chen Xiao-ya Yang Jian-chang Zhang Xian-long Wang Jian-kang Xu Ming-liang Liu Chun-ming Wang Dao-wen Sun Chuan-qing Ding Yan-feng Jin Wei-wei Chu Cheng-cai Cheng Wei-hong
Director of the editorial department:
Yan Chun-ling
CN 11-1809/S
ISSN 0496-3490
Post subscription code: 82-336

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  • Started in 2013
  • Covered by SCIE
  • Open access in ScienceDirect

Editor in chief: Wan Jian-min
CN 10-1112/S
ISSN 2095-5421, 2214-5141(online)
Online published:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/the-crop-journal
Submission: https://www.editorialmanager.com/cj/
E-mail: cropjournal@caas.cn
Tel: 8610-82108548

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