Stay-green Hybrids Research Articles

Nitrogen allocation and remobilization contributing to low-nitrogen tolerance in stay-green maize

Nitrogen (N) efficient cultivars can achieve relatively high grain yield under reduced N input. Normally modern stay-green maize cultivars are high-yielding and more N efficient than the old senescent cultivars. However, less is known about the genotypic difference in N use efficiency (NUE) among stay-green high-yielding cultivars. This information is crucial for further genetic improvement in NUE of the modern stay-green cultivars. In the present study, two stay-green hybrids with different NUE, Zhengdan958 (ZD958, N-efficient) and Liangyu99 (LY99, N-inefficient), were grown under 60 (LN) and 180 kg N ha−1 (HN) conditions in a 4-year field experiment with split-design. The two hybrids did not differ in grain yield under HN. Under LN, grain yield and grain N content of LY99 was 23.6 % and 30.3 % lower compared to that of ZD958, respectively. LY99 had few grain number per row than ZD958. Correspondingly, floret primordia number decreased by 17.7 %, and grain abortion increased by 12.7 % in LY99 compared to ZD958. During critical period around silking, N concentration in the young ear of LY99 is lower than that in ZD958. Also, the maximum absolute ear growth rate and exponential duration of LY99 were 22.2 % and 6.0 % lower than that of ZD958 under LN, respectively. In LN conditions, the two hybrids did not differ in post-silking N accumulation. However, N remobilization from vegetative organs to grains in LY99 was 41.3 % lower than that in ZD935. In conclusion, NUE in stay-green cultivars could be improved by efficient N allocation into the young ear and vegetative-N remobilization during post-silking period under insufficient N supply.

Senescence and yield responses to plant density in stay green and earlier-senescing maize hybrids from Argentina

Increases in maize (Zea mays L.) yield over the past few decades have been associated with breeding for tolerance to progressively higher plant densities. Since high plant density exacerbates interplant competition, it has been suggested that improved resource capture through delayed senescence might be advantageous in such situations. The main objectives of this work were to determine (1) the time-course of canopy senescence, (2) post-silking C and N accumulation and (3) yield responses of contemporary maize hybrids with different expression of the stay green (SG) character grown in a range of plant densities from moderate to intense crowding stress. Three experiments consisting of a combination of different plant densities (from 6 to 10plm−2) and commercial hybrids with different timing of senescence were carried out. High density accelerated leaf senescence at the lower canopy layer. The SG hybrids delayed senescence and retained green leaves at physiological maturity at all tested densities. One of these hybrids (NK880), with a strong SG character, retained green leaves at all canopy layers, even at the lower layer exposed to limiting irradiance. Lower canopy leaves maintained high respiratory rates in NK880, while leaves of the NSG hybrid (DK682) senesced and their respiration became not detectable. At the highest tested density, the NSG DK682 achieved greater grain yields than the SG NK880. Increased density reduced kernel weight (KW), and this decrease was more pronounced for the SG NK880 (6–18% comparing 10 vs. 8plm−2). In spite of delayed senescence in NK880, no hybrid differences were found for post-silking dry matter accumulation and plant dry matter at physiological maturity. Unexpectedly, plant nitrogen content (Nc) at harvest was similar (Exp. I) or even lower (P<0.05, Exp. II) in the SG NK880. This was the result of lower net N accumulation during the post-silking period (Exp. I) or lower Nc achieved at silking (Exp. II) in the SG NK880. A strong positive relation was found between KW and N concentration in kernels, with %N in kernels being below the critical N concentration to achieve potential KW (around 1.4%) in the SG hybrid. This suggests that yield in NK880 was limited by N. In the SG genotype, N remobilization from vegetative organs did not seem to compensate for the N deficit for optimum grain growth. In summary, at high densities the NK880 hybrid displayed a strong, constitutive SG character, even if it accumulated less N, and senescence delay was not reflected in higher grain yield.

Stay-green ranking and maturity of corn hybrids: 1. Effects on dry matter yield, nutritional value, fermentation characteristics, and aerobic stability of silage hybrids in Florida

This study determined effects of maturity, stay-green (SG) ranking, and hybrid source on dry matter (DM) yield, nutritive value, fermentation, and aerobic stability of corn hybrids. One high stay-green (HSG) hybrid and one average stay-green (ASG) hybrid with similar relative maturity (117 d) from each of 2 seed companies (Croplan Genetics, St. Paul, MN; Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Des Moines, IA) were grown on 1-× 6-m plots at random locations within each of 4 blocks. The hybrids were harvested at 25, 32, and 37% DM from each plot and separated into thirds for botanical fractionation and analysis, whole-plant chemical analysis, and ensiling. Chopped, whole plants were ensiled (8kg) in quadruplicate in 20-L mini-silos for 107 d. A split-plot design was used for the study. Yields of whole-plant and digestible DM and concentrations of starch and DM increased with maturity, whereas concentrations of crude protein, water-soluble carbohydrates, and neutral detergent fiber decreased. High SG hybrids had greater DM yield than ASG hybrids when harvested at 25 and 37%, but not 32% DM. Unlike those from Croplan Genetics, the Pioneer HSG hybrid had greater ear and whole-plant DM concentration than their ASG hybrids. Stover moisture and CP concentration were greater among HSG versus ASG hybrids, particularly among Croplan Genetics hybrids. Croplan Genetics HSG hybrids had greater neutral and acid detergent fiber concentrations and lower in vitro DM digestibility in the unensiled whole-plant, the stover, and the silage than their ASG hybrids, whereas contrasting trends were evident for Pioneer hybrids. Silage fermentation indices were largely unaffected by hybrid SG ranking, maturity, or source. Yeast counts increased with maturity and exceeded 105cfu/g; therefore, all silages deteriorated with 26h, irrespective of treatment. Among the hybrids examined, the optimal maturity for optimizing DM yield and nutritive value of the ASG and HSG hybrids was 37% DM. Stay-green ranking had maturity-dependent effects on the yield of hybrids but had varying effects on nutritional value depending on the source of the hybrid.

Canopy stay-green and yield in non-stressed sunflower

Delayed leaf senescence during the grain filling phase, or stay green (SG), may be functional or cosmetic; the first being considered a valuable trait in breeding of many crop species. To establish whether canopy senescence patterns exhibited by two sunflower ( Helianthus annuus L.) hybrids visually selected for slow post-anthesis canopy leaf area index (LAI) loss reflected functional, rather than cosmetic, SG, LAI dynamics and total biomass increase between anthesis and physiological maturity were followed in three separate experiments in which the putative SG hybrids were compared with standard (i.e., non stay green, NSG) hybrids exhibiting normal rates of canopy senescence under non- or minimal-water stress conditions. In two experiments, pairwise (i.e., one SG vs. one NSG) comparisons were made at two crop population densities. In the third experiment, grown at a single crop population density, four NSG hybrids were contrasted with the two SG hybrids. Canopy senescence dynamics were well described by fitted bilinear functions which discriminated between an initial, slow phase of leaf area loss and a second phase of rapid canopy senescence. No differences between hybrids in the rate of senescence during the first phase were found, but the putative SG hybrids exhibited a significantly slower rate of senescence during the second phase and a significantly higher LAI at physiological maturity (as % of LAI at anthesis). One NSG hybrid showed a greater rate of second-phase senescence than the remaining three hybrids in this category. Across experiments, the anthesis-physiological maturity increment in total oil-corrected biomass and radiation use efficiency (RUE) were significantly greater in the SG hybrids. Cluster analysis based on these four attributes, using data from Exp. 3, clearly discriminated between SG and NSG hybrids. Examination of specific leaf N (SLN) dynamics suggests that the lower RUE values observed in one of the NSG hybrids could be attributable to lower SLN values, but this was not the case for the remaining NSG hybrids. It is also possible that very rapid canopy LAI loss in another NSG hybrid may underlie its lower RUE. The failure of SG hybrids to translate greater post-anthesis biomass increment into grain yield across experiments was associated with their slightly shorter times to anthesis and their significantly lower biomass at anthesis. Grain number, the component of yield most strongly associated with yield, was associated with biomass at anthesis. A further contributing factor was that the duration of grain-filling tended to be shorter in SG hybrids. In the one experiment in which this variable was measured, resistance to stalk breakage was greater in the SG hybrids than the NSG one to which they were compared. We conclude that the SG observed in the hybrids with slower canopy senescence is functional and not cosmetic, and that for this to be translated into a yield advantage all hybrids need to reach anthesis at the same time and grain-filling duration also has to be the same across hybrids. Stay green is an interesting secondary trait to select for and should lead to higher and more stable yields in environments in which stem breakage (lodging) is a problem.

EFFECT OF NITROGEN FERTILIZATION ON STAY-GREEN AND SENESCENT SORGHUM HYBRIDS IN SAND CULTURE

Nitrogen (N) is vital in the production of N containing compounds in cereal crops. Stay-greenness in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is characterized by the plant's ability to retain water and chlorophyll content at maturity. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of the genotypic variability between stay-green (BT × 643) and senescent (RT × 7000) hybrids for leaf senescence, dry matter partitioning and N partitioning under three N levels (0.45, 0.90, 1.80 g plant−1). The stay-green hybrid had a higher percentage green leaf area at 120 DAE with a higher residual N in leaves. The chlorophyll meter (SPAD-502) values for the stay-green hybrid during anthesis (75 and 85 DAE) were higher compared to its senescent counterpart. The results indicated that the expression of stay-green phenotype in sorghum was contingent on a minimum N supply of 1.35 g plant−1 and associated with greater N acquisition. Nitrogen use and uptake in the stay-green hybrid were higher.

Effects of N-deficiency and timing of N supply on the recovery and distribution of labeled 15N in contrasting maize hybrids

Little information exists on the pattern of nitrogen (N) uptake, remobilization and N use efficiency (NUE) in Leafy and stay-green (SG) maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes. A pot experiment was conducted under controlled nutrition and growing conditions to determine the response of Leafy and SG maize genotypes to different levels of N-deficiency and timing of N supply. Three contrasting maize hybrids, ‘Pioneer 3905’ (a conventional hybrid with moderate SG characteristics), ‘Pioneer 39F06 Bt’ (with a high score of SG trait) and ‘Maizex LF850-RR’ (with a Leafy trait) were grown in 6 L plastic pots. Five different N treatments [no supply of N until V8 (N1), no supply of N after V8 (N2), no supply of N after silking (N3), no supply of N beyond 3 weeks after silking (N4), and continuous N supply from emergence to physiological maturity (N5; standard check)] were imposed through modified Hoagland solution applied manually. Labeled 15N of 5% 15N2–NH4NO3fertilizer was applied at 3 g per pot at the start of each schedule N treatment. Total amounts of N applied in different treatments were 3.13, 1.32, 1.90, 2.63 and 3.40 g, respectively in N1, N2, N3, N4 and N5. Dry matter, N concentration, 15N (atom% enrichment) and NUE were determined in roots, stalk, leaves and grains at crop maturity. The three contrasting hybrids did not differ in grain yield, total N acquisition, partitioning of 15N and NUE. Restriction of N supply until V8, and from V8 to physiological maturity significantly reduced grain yield and N-uptake in all hybrids. Irrespective of the level of N-deficiency in plant and timing when the labeled fertilizer was applied, the amount of 15N recovered in the matured plant was the same in all N treatments. It has been evident that maize continued to take up N beyond 3 weeks after silking and the later N was applied during the development, the higher proportion of it was partitioned to grains. Of the total 15N uptake, 78% was partitioned to kernels in the N4 treatment compared to only 61% in the control. Our data showed no evidence of differential N uptake, remobilization and NUE in the SG or Leafy hybrids tested, but the timing of N application and level of N-deficiency in plant significantly influenced N uptake, remobilization and N-dynamics in maize.

Effect of Seed Maturation and Genotype on Seed Vigor in Maize

High quality seed is the goal of all corn (Zea mays L.) seed producers. The objective of this investigation was to relate several indicators of seed maturity [black layer (BL), milk line (ML)], to seed vigor (cold test and conductivity) over a wide range of dent corn genotypes and environments. Two inbreds (B73, Mo17), four single and modified single cross hybrids, and seven open pollinated, double and three way cross hybrids were produced at two locations (Lexington and Danville, KY) from 1985 to 1989. In 1986 and 1987, a complete plant defoliation treatment was also imposed on inbred, single and double cross hybrids. Seed harvests were started at approximately 30 d after pollination and continued at short intervals (≈4 d). Seed vigor reached maximum levels at physiological maturity (PM) which occurred at black layer Stage 4 for single and double cross progeny. Maximum seed vigor occurred slightly later for inbreds between black layer Stages 4 and 5. There was a significant quadratic relationship between seed vigor (cold test and conductivity) and black layer maturity across all years in each genotype grouping including stay‐green hybrids. When plants were stressed by defoliation or high temperatures during seed development, the seed weight was reduced, seed maturation was accelerated, but maximum seed vigor occurred at the same stage (BL4) as for nonstressed plants. Maximum seed vigor levels consistently occurred at physiological maturity as determined by black layer (or milk line), which can be used by seed producers to estimate the date of harvest.