Abstract
Seeds planted in early spring frequently experience low temperature stress in the soil during germination and early plant growth. Seed pretreatments such as priming have been shown to ameliorate the negative effects of cold soil in some crops. However, the potential beneficial effects of priming have not been widely investigated for Zea mays (maize). To investigate seed priming effects, 24 diverse maize inbred lines were primed using a synthetic solid matrix, Micro-Cel E, and then exposed to 10°C soil conditions. Six DSLR cameras captured time lapsed images of emerging seedlings. Manual scoring was used to determine treatment effects on three seedling emergence metrics. Chilling substantially reduced total emergence for two of 24 genotypes evaluated. For these genotypes, priming provided protection allowing nearly full emergence. Priming significantly reduced mean emergence time and increased the emergence uniformity of chilling sensitive genotypes. The results suggest that the cold sensitive genotypes may benefit from priming pretreatment. Kernel density, weight, oil, protein, and starch traits, as determined by single-kernel near infrared spectroscopy, were not correlated with seedling emergence traits supporting a conclusion that early seedling performance cannot be determined from these maize kernel characteristics.
Highlights
Chilling stress is one of the major limitations on kernel emergence especially for C4 plants such as maize [1]
Planting dates for the US Corn Belt range from April to early May when cold soil temperatures can induce chilling stress
Maize kernel emergence and growth is impaired at suboptimal temperatures with mild chilling being 10–15 ̊C and severe chilling being below 6 ̊C [2,3,4]
Summary
Chilling stress is one of the major limitations on kernel emergence especially for C4 plants such as maize [1]. Maize is of tropical origin and is considered to have limited tolerance to low temperature stress. Substantial maize cultivation occurs at temperate latitudes where the crop is exposed to a colder environment early in the season. Planting dates for the US Corn Belt range from April to early May when cold soil temperatures can induce chilling stress. Maize kernel emergence and growth is impaired at suboptimal temperatures with mild chilling being 10–15 ̊C and severe chilling being below 6 ̊C [2,3,4].
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.