Physiological N response of field-grown maize hybrids (Zea mays L.) with divergent yield potential and grain protein concentration

Fertilizer N availability impacts photosynthesis and crop performance, although cause–effect relationships are not well established, especially for field-grown plants. Our objective was to determine the relationship between N supply and photosynthetic capacity estimated by leaf area index (LAI) and single leaf photosynthesis using genetically diverse field-grown maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids. We compared a high yield potential commercial hybrid (FR1064 x LH185) and an experimental hybrid (FR1064 x IHP) with low yield potential but exceptionally high grain protein concentration. Plant biomass and physiological traits were measured at tassel emergence (VT) and at the grain milk stage (R3) to assess the effects of N supply on photosynthetic source capacity and N uptake, and grain yield and grain N were measured at maturity. Grain yield of FR1064 x LH185 was much greater than FR1064 x IHP even though plant biomass and LAI were larger for FR1064 x IHP, and single leaf photosynthesis was similar for both hybrids. Although photosynthetic capacity was not related to hybrid differences in productivity, increasing N supply led to proportional increases in grain yield, plant biomass, LAI, photosynthesis, and Rubisco and PEP carboxylase activities for both hybrids. Thus, a positive relationship between photosynthetic capacity and yield was revealed by hybrid response to N supply, and the relationship was similar for hybrids with a marked difference in yield potential. For both hybrids the N response of single leaf CER and initial Rubisco activity was negative when expressed per unit of leaf N. In contrast, PEP carboxylase activity per unit leaf N increased in response to N availability, indicating that PEP carboxylase served as a reservoir for excess N accumulation in field-grown maize leaves. The correlation between CER and initial Rubisco activity was highly significant when expressed on a leaf area or a total leaf basis. The results suggest that regardless of genotypic yield potential, maize CER, and potentially grain yield, could be improved by increasing the partitioning of N into Rubisco.     

Effects of watering regime and nitrogen application rate on the photosynthetic parameters,physiological characteristics,and agronomic traits of rice

Water and nitrogen (N) are two of the most important abiotic factors limiting rice yield. However, a little information is available on why a moderate water and N interaction significantly increase rice biomass, from the point of view of photosynthetic physiology. A pot experiment with three water regimes [continued flood (CF), alternate wetting and moderate drying (WMD), and alternate wetting and severe drying (WSD)] and four N application levels (no nitrogen, N0; 90 kg hm^?2, N1; 180 kg hm^?2, N2; 270 kg hm^?2, N3) was carried out to investigate this problem. Results demonstrated that WSD significantly inhibited rice height, leaf area, chlorophyll content, photosynthesis, and yield at the four different N levels, as compared to that with CF and WMD. However, WMD substantially alleviated these reductions, and their values were not significantly different from those of CF. Contents of leaf soluble protein and total chlorophyll in WMD were increased compared to the WSD, and this mitigating effect was beneficial to the increase of rice photosynthesis and yield development. Photosynthesis in rice leaf was significantly affected by water status but not N level. Analysis of variance demonstrated a significant effect of water on spikelet number, which indicates that the reduction of spikelet number under water stress may be the major reason for its low yield. Therefore, we concluded that WMD could be considered as an effective water management regime to obtain high yield in rice production, and its strengthened drought tolerance was closely associated with the higher dry matter and in the physiological characteristics including an increase in spikelet number, chlorophyll and soluble protein contents, and photosynthetic rate.     

超级杂交水稻谷粒产量与叶光合速率的关系

在2000～2005年期间,通过测定几种超级杂交水稻与普通杂交水稻‘汕优63’的产量构成和叶片光合作用探讨了谷粒产量与光合作用的关系。结果表明:(1)4种超级杂交水稻‘培矮64S/E32’、‘P88S/O293’、‘金23A/611’和‘GD-lS/ RB207’的产量水平显著高于‘汕优63’,是对照的108%～120%。(2)与‘汕优63’相比,这些超级杂交水稻的株型好,上层叶片直立,穗大即每穗粒数多,是对照的125%～177%。(3)与‘汕优63’相比,这些组合第二叶的净光合速率显著提高,但第一叶即剑叶的未必都较高。(4)去半叶处理降低了‘GD-1S/RB207’的结实率,而去半穗处理显著提高了结实率。因此,这些超级杂交水稻的高产原因在于穗大、株型好以及群体光能利用效率高。增加单叶特别是剑叶的光合能力是克服谷粒产量的光合产物源限制和在未来的超级杂交水稻育种中实现产量潜力新突破的关键。     

长期施肥对水稻光合特性及水分利用效率的影响

在实施了27年的长期田间定位试验区,研究了长期不同施肥对红壤区水稻光合特性及水分利用效率的影响.结果表明:在不施肥(CK)、无机肥(N、NP、NPK)、有机肥(猪粪+紫云英绿肥,M)和无机肥与有机肥配施(NPKM)处理中,长期施用肥料,特别是有机肥与无机肥配施提高水稻各生育期剑叶叶绿素含量、净光合作用速率、气孔导度、蒸腾速率、水分利用效率和水稻产量,降低水稻剑叶胞间CO_2浓度;水稻剑叶叶绿素含量、净光合作用速率、气孔导度、蒸腾速率随发育阶段演进而减小,孕穗期>齐穗期>乳熟期,而胞间CO_2浓度相反;水分利用效率以齐穗期为最大;水稻发育阶段叶绿素含量、净光合速率和水稻产量之间均呈显著正相关;长期施用肥料,特别是有机肥与无机肥配施更有利于红壤区水稻的生长发育、产量和水分利用效率的提高.

Abstract：

A field experiment has being conducted for 27 years in Jinxian County, Institute of Red Soil in Jiangxi Province (116°20'24" E, 28°15'30" N) to study the effects of fertilization on the rice photosynthetic traits and water use efficiency. Four treatments were installed,i. e., no fertilization (CK), chemical fertilization (N, NP, NPK), organic fertilization (M), and chemi-cal and organic fertilization (NPKM). Long-term fertilization, especially treatment NPKM, in- creased the flag leaf chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpi-ration rate, and water use efficiency of rice at its all growth stages and the rice yield, and de-creased the flag leaf intercellular CO_2 concentration. With the growth of rice, the chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate decreased, but the intercellular CO_2 concentration increased. The water use efficiency was the greatest at full-head-ing stage. There were significant positive correlations between the chlorophyll content and net photosynthetic rate at various growth stages and the rice yield, Long-term fertilization, especially the combined chemical and organic fertilization, was favorable to the rice growth and develop-ment, water use efficiency, and yield production in red soil region.     

Effects of Delaying Transplanting on Agronomic Traits and Grain Yield of Rice under Mechanical Transplantation Pattern

A delay in the mechanical transplantation (MT) of rice seedlings frequently occurs in Huanghuai wheat-rice rotation cropping districts of China, due to the late harvest of wheat, the poor weather conditions and the insufficiency of transplanters, missing the optimum transplanting time and causing seedlings to age. To identify how delaying transplanting rice affects the agronomic characteristics including the growth duration, photosynthetic productivity and dry matter remobilization efficiency and the grain yield under mechanical transplanting pattern, an experiment with a split-plot design was conducted over two consecutive years. The main plot includes two types of cultivation: mechanical transplanting and artificial transplanting (AT). The subplot comprises four japonica rice cultivars. The results indicate that the rice jointing, booting, heading and maturity stages were postponed under MT when using AT as a control. The tiller occurrence number, dry matter weight per tiller, accumulative dry matter for the population, leaf area index, crop growth rate, photosynthetic potential, and dry matter remobilization efficiency of the leaf under MT significantly decreased compared to those under AT. In contrast, the reduction rate of the leaf area during the heading-maturity stage was markedly enhanced under MT. The numbers of effective panicles and filled grains per panicle and the grain yield significantly decreased under MT. A significant correlation was observed between the dry matter production, remobilization and distribution characteristics and the grain yield. We infer that, as with rice from old seedlings, the decrease in the tiller occurrence, the photosynthetic productivity and the assimilate remobilization efficiency may be important agronomic traits that are responsible for the reduced grain yield under MT.     

Differential responses of system of rice intensification (SRI) and conventional flooded-rice management methods to applications of nitrogen fertilizer

Background

Rising food demand, slowing productivity growth, poor N-use efficiency in rice, and environmental degradation necessitate the development of more productive, environmentally-sound crop and soil management practices. The system of rice intensification (SRI) has been proposed as a methodology to address these trends. However, it is not known how its modified crop-soil-water management practices affect efficiency of inorganic nitrogen applications.

Methods

Field experiments investigated the impacts of SRI management practices with different N-application rates on grain yield, root growth and activity, uptake of N and its use-efficiency, leaf chlorophyll content, leaf N-concentration, and photosynthetic rate in comparison with standard management practices for transplanted flooded rice (TFR).

Results

Overall, grain yield with SRI was 49 % higher than with TFR, with yield enhanced at every N application dose. N-uptake, use-efficiency, and partial factor productivity from applied N were significantly higher in SRI than TFR. Higher leaf nitrogen and chlorophyll contents during the ripening-stage in SRI plants reflected delayed leaf-senescence, extension of photosynthetic processes, and improved root-shoot activities contributing to increased grain yield.

Conclusions

Rice grown under SRI management used N fertilizer more efficiently due to profuse root development and improved physiological performance resulting in enhanced grain yield compared to traditional flooded rice.     

Exploiting leaf starch synthesis as a transient sink to elevate photosynthesis, plant productivity and yields

Improvements in plant productivity (biomass) and yield have centered on increasing the efficiency of leaf CO₂ fixation and utilization of products by non-photosynthetic sink organs. We had previously demonstrated a correlation between photosynthetic capacity, plant growth, and the extent of leaf starch synthesis utilizing starch-deficient mutants. This finding suggested that leaf starch is used as a transient photosynthetic sink to recycle inorganic phosphate and, in turn, maximize photosynthesis. To test this hypothesis, Arabidopsis thaliana and rice (Oryza sativa L.) lines were generated with enhanced capacity to make leaf starch with minimal impact on carbon partitioning to sucrose. The Arabidopsis engineered plants exhibited enhanced photosynthetic capacity; this translated into increased growth and biomass. These enhanced phenotypes were displayed by similarly engineered rice lines. Manipulation of leaf starch is a viable alternative strategy to increase photosynthesis and, in turn, the growth and yields of crop and bioenergy plants.     

Relationship of Nitrogen Deficiency-Induced Leaf Senescence with ROS Generation and ABA Concentration in Rice Flag Leaves

Nitrogen (N) deficiency is one of the critical environmental factors that induce leaf senescence, and its occurrence may cause the shorten leaf photosynthetic period and markedly lowered grain yield. However, the physiological metabolism underlying N deficiency-induced leaf senescence and its relationship with the abscisic acid (ABA) concentration and reactive oxygen species (ROS) burst in leaf tissues are not well understood. In this paper, the effect of N supply on several senescence-related physiological parameters and its relation to the temporal patterns of ABA concentration and ROS accumulation during leaf senescence were investigated using the premature senescence of flag leaf mutant rice (psf) and its wild type under three N treatments. The results showed that N deficiency hastened the initiation and progression of leaf senescence, and this occurrence was closely associated with the upregulated expression of 9-cis-epoxycarotenoiddioxygenase genes (NCEDs) and with the downregulated expression of two ABA 8′-hydroxylase isoform genes (ABA8ox2 and ABA8ox3) under LN treatment. Contrarily, HN supply delayed the initiation and progression of leaf senescence, concurrently with the suppressed ABA biosynthesis and relatively lower level of ABA concentration in leaf tissues. Exogenous ABA incubation enhanced ROS generation and MDA accumulation in a dose-dependent manner, but it decreased the activities of glutamine synthetase (GS) and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) in detached leaf. These results suggested that the participation of ABA in the regulation of ROS generation and N assimilating/remobilizing metabolism in rice leaves was strongly responsible for induction of leaf senescence by N deficiency.

     

垄作梯式生态稻作对水稻光合生理特性及产量的影响

2011—2012年在湖南长沙以超级杂交稻Y两优1号、杂交稻汕优63和常规稻黄华占为材料进行大田试验,比较了垄作梯式生态稻作(RT)和垄厢生态稻作(B)对水稻产量和光合生理特性的影响.结果表明: 与传统稻作(CK)相比,RT的Y两优1号产量显著提高了28.7%,单位面积有效穗数显著提高16.1%,每穗粒数高6.8%,汕优63和黄华占的RT、B处理产量分别高24.3%和19.7%、12.0%和16.2%.RT的Y两优1号叶面积、抽穗前及抽穗后干物质积累量、总干物质量都高于CK,颖花数/叶面积、实粒数/叶面积、粒重/叶面积分别比CK高8.1%、14.8%和15.8%,光合势比CK高32.2%,而净同化率则比CK低9.3%.
     

短期干旱对水稻叶水势、光合作用及干物质分配的影响

采用盆栽水分试验,研究了不同生育期短期干旱处理对水稻叶水势、光合作用和干物质分配的影响．结果表明,干旱胁迫后,水稻叶水势低于对照,午后叶水势回升缓慢。凌晨叶水势随土壤含水量的降低而降低,表现为阈值反应。叶片净光合速率与凌晨叶水势密切相关,低于凌晨叶水势临界值,水稻叶片净光合速率急剧下降在水稻抽穗期和灌浆期叶片净光合速率显著下降的凌晨叶水势临界值为-1.04和-1．13MPa,对应的土壤含水量阈值分别为饱和含水量的61.0％和50．9％,土壤水势分别为-0．133和-0．240MPa干旱胁迫下单叶净光合速率的日变化规律表现为：胁迫较轻时,单叶净光合速率在正午附近出现低谷;胁迫严重时,净光合速率全天低于对照,且不及对照的一半。短期干旱后,水稻叶、根、穗的分配指数均降低,茎鞘的分配指数升高。本研究可为水稻节水灌溉管理和水分限制下水稻的生长模拟提供生理基础和理论依据。