Abstract
The low red/far-red (R/FR) light proportion at the base of the high-density wheat population leads to poor stem quality and increases lodging risk. We used Shannong 23 and Shannong 16 as the test materials. By setting three-light quality treatments: normal light (CK), red light (RL), and far-red light (FRL), we irradiated the base internodes of the stem with RL and FRL for 7h. Our results showed that RL irradiation enhanced stem quality, as revealed by increased breaking strength, stem diameter, wall thickness and, dry weight per unit length, and the total amount of lignin and related gene expression increased, at the same time. The composition of lignin subunits was related to the lodging resistance of wheat. The proportion of S+G subunits and H subunits played a key role in wheat lodging resistance. RL could increase the content of S subunits and G subunits and the proportion of S+G subunits, reduce the proportion of H subunits. We described here, to the best of our knowledge, the systematic study of the mechanism involved in the regulation of stem breaking strength by light quality, particularly the effect of light quality on lignin biosynthesis and its relationship with lodging resistance in wheat.
Highlights
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important crop in the world, and it plays a crucial role in determining global food security (Zhang et al, 2020)
The analysis of variance showed that wheat variety and light quality significantly (p < 0.01) affected wheat stem breaking strength, dry weight per length, stem diameter, wall thickness, and S, G, and H subunit contents as well as total lignin content (Table 2)
The breaking strength of the internode at the base of the stem is closely related to the light environment, and this study showed that high R/FR conditions (Figure 9) significantly increased the diameter and wall thickness of the second internode at the base of the wheat stem (Figure 2) and increased stem fullness (Table 4), thereby significantly enhancing stem breaking resistance and improving the lodging resistance
Summary
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important crop in the world, and it plays a crucial role in determining global food security (Zhang et al, 2020). As the global population grows, the production of wheat needs to increase by 70% to ensure food security by 2050 (Curtis and Halford, 2014). Wheat yield needs to be achieved by increasing planting density and fertilization (Xiao et al, 2015; Fang et al, 2018). These factors increase competition for water, fertilizer, and light within the population, increasing the risk of lodging. How to improve the stem quality, especially the breaking strength of stem base internodes, has become the main goal to improve the lodging resistance and yield of wheat
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