Origin,dispersal, cultivation and variation of rice

There are two cultivated and twenty-one wild species of genus Oryza. O. sativa, the Asian cultivated rice is grown all over the world. The African cultivated rice, O. glaberrima is grown on a small scale in West Africa. The genus Oryza probably originated about 130 million years ago in Gondwanaland and different species got distributed into different continents with the breakup of Gondwanaland. The cultivated species originated from a common ancestor with AA genome. Perennial and annual ancestors of O. sativa are O. rufipogon and O. nivara and those of O. glaberrima are O. longistaminata/, O. breviligulata and O. glaberrima probably domesticated in Niger river delta. Varieties of O. sativa are classified into six groups on the basis of genetic affinity. Widely known indica rices correspond to group I and japonicas to group VI. The so called javanica rices also belong to group VI and are designated as tropical japonicas in contrast to temperate japonicas grown in temperate climate. Indica and japonica rices had a polyphyletic origin. Indicas were probably domesticated in the foothills of Himalayas in Eastern India and japonicas somewhere in South China. The indica rices dispersed throughout the tropics and subtropics from India. The japonica rices moved northward from South China and became the temperate ecotype. They also moved southward to Southeast Asia and from there to West Africa and Brazil and became tropical ecotype. Rice is now grown between 55°N and 36°S latitudes. It is grown under diverse growing conditions such as irrigated, rainfed lowland, rainfed upland and floodprone ecosystems. Human selection and adaptation to diverse environments has resulted in numerous cultivars. It is estimated that about 120000 varieties of rice exist in the world. After the establishment of International Rice Research Institute in 1960, rice varietal improvement was intensified and high yielding varieties were developed. These varieties are now planted to 70% of world's riceland. Rice production doubled between 1966 and 1990 due to large scale adoption of these improved varieties. Rice production must increase by 60% by 2025 to feed the additional rice consumers. New tools of molecular and cellular biology such as anther culture, molecular marker aided selection and genetic engineering will play increasing role in rice improvement.     

Chloroplast genome variation in upland and lowland switchgrass

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) exists at multiple ploidies and two phenotypically distinct ecotypes. To facilitate interploidal comparisons and to understand the extent of sequence variation within existing breeding pools, two complete switchgrass chloroplast genomes were sequenced from individuals representative of the upland and lowland ecotypes. The results demonstrated a very high degree of conservation in gene content and order with other sequenced plastid genomes. The lowland ecotype reference sequence (Kanlow Lin1) was 139,677 base pairs while the upland sequence (Summer Lin2) was 139,619 base pairs. Alignments between the lowland reference sequence and short-read sequence data from existing sequence datasets identified as either upland or lowland confirmed known polymorphisms and indicated the presence of other differences. Insertions and deletions principally occurred near stretches of homopolymer simple sequence repeats in intergenic regions while most Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) occurred in intergenic regions and introns within the single copy portions of the genome. The polymorphism rate between upland and lowland switchgrass ecotypes was found to be similar to rates reported between chloroplast genomes of indica and japonica subspecies of rice which were believed to have diverged 0.2-0.4 million years ago.     

Effects of ecotypes and morphotypes in feedstock composition of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.)

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a C4 grass with high biomass yield potential and is now a model species for the Bioenergy Feedstock Development Program. Two distinct ecotypes (e.g., upland and lowland) and a range of plant morphotypes (e.g., leafy and stemmy) have been observed in switchgrass. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of ecotype and morphotype on biomass feedstock quality. Leaf and stem tissues of leafy and stemmy morphotypes from both lowland and upland ecotypes were analyzed for key feedstock traits. The leaf : stem ratio of leafy morphotype was more than 40% higher than the stemmy morphotype in both upland and lowland ecotypes. Therefore, the stemmy morphotype has significant advantages over leafy morphotype during harvesting, storage, transportation and finally the feedstock quality. Remarkable differences in feedstock quality and mineral composition were observed in switchgrass genotypes with distinct ecotypic origins and variable plant morphotypes. Lignin, hemicelluloses and cellulose concentrations were higher in stems than in the leaves, while ash content was notably high in leaves. A higher concentration of potassium was found in the stems compared to the leaves. In contrast, calcium was higher and magnesium was generally higher in the leaves compared to stems. The upland genotypes demonstrated considerably higher lignin (14.4%) compared with lowland genotypes (12.4%), while hemicellulose was higher in lowland compared with upland. The stemmy type demonstrated slightly higher lignin compared with leafy types (P < 0.1). Differences between the ecotypes and morphotypes for key quality traits demonstrated the potential for improving feedstock composition of switchgrass through selection in breeding programs.     

Genomic landscape of parallel domestication of upland rice and its implications

Parallel domestication has been widely acknowledged but itsgenetic basis remains largely unclear. As an important rice ecotype, upland rice was assumedly domesticated multiple times in two rice subspecies (Indica and Japonica) and provides a feasible system to explore the genetic basis of parallel domestication. To uncover the genome‐wide pattern of genetic differentiation between upland and lowland rice and explore the parallelism of genetic changes during upland rice domestication, we obtained whole‐genome sequences of 95 rice landraces and yielded genome‐wide expression data for five tissues of representative accessions of upland and lowland rice. Our phylogenetic analyses confirmed multiple domestications of the upland ecotype in two rice subspecies. Genomic scans based on resequencing data identified substantial differentiation between the upland and lowland ecotypes with 11.4% and 14.8% of the genome diverged between the two ecotypes in Indica and Japonica, respectively. Further genome‐wide gene expression analyses found that 30% of effectively expressed genes were significantly differentiated between two ecotypes, indicating the importance of regulation changes in the domestication of upland rice. Importantly, we found that only 1.8% of differentiated genomes and 1.6% of differentially expressed genes were shared by upland Indica and upland Japonica, suggestive of largely unparallel genetic alterations during upland rice domestication. These findings not only provide new insights into the genetic basis of parallel domestication at the genome scale but could also facilitate geneticimprovement and breeding of rice and crops in general.     

Respiration for maintenance and growth inReynoutria japonica ecotypes from different altitudes on Mt Fuji

Respiration for maintenance and growth ofReynoutria japonica ecotypes from altitudes of 700 and 2420 m on Mt Fuji were measured in two controlled thermal conditions. The maintenance respiration of the high-altitude ecotype at both 15 and 25°C was significantly (1.7-fold) higher than that of the low-altitude ecotype, whereas growth respiration was independent of both ecotype and temperature. The temperature coefficient (Q₁₀) of the maintenance respiration was about 1.9 in both ecotypes. The results show that there is ecotypic differentiation in the performance of maintenance respiration. It is suggested that the high maintenance respiration of the high-altitudeR. japonica ecotype is advantageous in severe upland environments but disadvantageous in a warm lowland climate in terms of carbon economy.     

Development of upland rice introgression lines and identification of QTLs for basal root thickness under different water regimes

Introgression lines (ILs) are valuable materials for identifying quantitative trait loci (QTLs),evaluating genetic interactions,and marker assisted breeding.A set of 430 ILs (BC5F3) containing segments from upland tropical japonica cultivar IRAT109 in a lowland temperate japonica cultivar Yuefu background were developed.One hundred and seventy-six polymorphic markers were used to identify introgressed segments.No segment from IRAT 109 was found in 160 lines.Introgressed segments of the other 270 lines covered 99.1％ of the donor genome.The mean number of introgressed donor segments per individual was 3.3 with an average length of 14.4 cM.QTL analysis was conducted on basal root thickness (BRT) of the 270 ILs grown under irrigated lowland,upland and hydroponic conditions.A total of 22 QTLs affecting BRT were identified,six QTLs (qBRT3.1,qBRT3.2,qBRT6.1,qBRT8.2,qBRT9.1,and qBRT9.2) were consistently expressed under at least two environments (location and water regime),and qBRT7.2 was a new BRT QTL identified under lowland conditions.IL255 containing qBRT9.1 showed an increase of 10.09％ and 7.07％ BRT over cultivar Yuefu when grown under upland and lowland conditions,respectively.Using a population of 304 F2:3 lines derived from the cross IL255 × Yuefu,qBRT9.1 was validated and mapped to a 1.2 cM interval between RM24271 and RM566.The presence of qBRT9.1 explained 12％ of BRT variation.The results provide upland rice ILs and BRT QTLs for analyzing the genetic basis of drought resistance,detecting favorable genes from upland rice,and rice drought resistance breeding.     

Natural variation in the promoter of rice calcineurin B‐like protein10 (OsCBL10) affects flooding tolerance during seed germination among rice subspecies

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) has two ecotypes, upland and lowland rice, that have been observed to show different tolerance levels under flooding stress. In this study, two rice cultivars, upland (Up221, flooding‐intolerant) and lowland (Low88, flooding‐tolerant), were initially used to study their molecular mechanisms in response to flooding germination. We observed that variations in the OsCBL10 promoter sequences in these two cultivars might contribute to this divergence in flooding tolerance. Further analysis using another eight rice cultivars revealed that the OsCBL10 promoter could be classified as either a flooding‐tolerant type (T‐type) or a flooding‐intolerant type (I‐type). The OsCBL10 T‐type promoter only existed in japonica lowland cultivars, whereas the OsCBL10 I‐type promoter existed in japonica upland, indica upland and indica lowland cultivars. Flooding‐tolerant rice cultivars containing the OsCBL10 T‐type promoter have shown lower Ca²⁺ flow and higher α‐amylase activities in comparison to those in flooding‐intolerant cultivars. Furthermore, the OsCBL10 overexpression lines were sensitive to both flooding and hypoxic treatments during rice germination with enhanced Ca²⁺ flow in comparison to wild‐type. Subsequent findings also indicate that OsCBL10 may affect OsCIPK15 protein abundance and its downstream pathways. In summary, our results suggest that the adaptation to flooding stress during rice germination is associated with two different OsCBL10 promoters, which in turn affect OsCBL10 expression in different cultivars and negatively affect OsCIPK15 protein accumulation and its downstream cascade.     

The role of aquaporin RWC3 in drought avoidance in rice

Although the discovery of aquaporins in plants has resulted in a paradigm shift in the understanding of plant water relations, the relationship between aquaporins and drought resistance still remains elusive. From an agronomic viewpoint, upland rice is traditionally considered as showing drought avoidance. In the investigation of different morphological and physiological responses of upland rice (Oryza sativa L. spp indica cv. Zhonghan 3) and lowland rice (O. sativa L. spp japonica cv. Xiushui 63) to water deficit, we observed young leaf rolling and the remarkable decline of cumulative transpiration in the upland rice. The expression of water channel protein RWC3 mRNA was increased in upland rice at the early response (up to 4 h) to the 20% polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 treatment, whereas there was no significant expression changes in lowland rice. Protein levels were increased in upland rice and decreased in lowland rice at 10 h after the water deficit. The up-regulation of RWC3 in upland rice fits well with the knowledge that upland rice adopts the mechanism of drought avoidance. The physiological significance of this RWC3 up-regulation was then explored with the over-expression of RWC3 in transgenic lowland rice (O. sativa L. spp japonica cv. Zhonghua 11) controlled by a stress-inducible SWPA2 promoter. Compared to the wild-type plant, the transgenic lowland rice exhibited higher root osmotic hydraulic conductivity (Lp), leaf water potential and relative cumulative transpiration at the end of 10 h PEG treatment. These results indicated that RWC3 probably played a role in drought avoidance in rice.     

Rice hull and caryopsis discoloration diseases

In West Africa, rice is grown in three constrasting ecosystems, upland, phreatic, and lowland, which is characterized by differing water availability and soil properties. These ecosystems influence the predisposition of rice to disease problems, including the grain discoloration complex. Discoloration of the hull was found to be most severe in the upland, less in the phreatic, and least in the water-saturated lowland ecosystem. Caryopsis discoloration, however, showed no consistent pattern in relation to the three ecosystems and was not correlated with hull discoloration, indicating that other factors are involved.     

水、旱条件下稻米蒸煮和营养品质性状与土壤水分环境互作分析及其QTL定位

以旱稻品种IRAT109与水稻品种越富杂交构建的DH群体的116个株系及其亲本为材料,在水、旱2种栽培条件下种植,研究了稻米蒸煮和营养品质性状的变化规律,在水、旱2个土壤水分环境下对直链淀粉含量(AC)、胶稠度(GC)、碱消值(GT)和蛋白质含量(PC)4个蒸煮和营养品质性状进行QTL定位及QTLs与环境互作分析。结果表明,以上4个品质性状在水、旱2种不同栽培条件下差异较大,说明这些性状受水分条件影响较大,旱栽条件下稻米蒸煮和营养各品质性状均有不同程度的升高,其中蛋白质含量平均提高37.9%。QTL分析结果表明,4个稻米品质性状在2个环境中的表现型值都为连续分布,均存在超亲遗传类型,共检测到7个加性效应QTL与稻米蒸煮和营养品质性状4项指标有关,分别位于第1、2、3、6、8、11染色体上,单个QTLs对性状的贡献率在1.91%～19.77%之间。位于第3染色体上控制碱消值的QGt3,第6染色体上控制直链淀粉含量的QAc6,在2个不同土壤水分条件下均与环境存在显著互作,对环境互作的贡献率分别为8.99%和47.86%。控制直链淀粉含量的2对上位性QTLs与土壤水分环境显著互作,贡献率较大,分别为32.54%和11.82%。并筛选到5个主效QTL(QGt6b、QGt8、QGt11、QGc1和QPc2)在抗旱育种中可用于蒸煮和营养各品质性状MAS改良。     

Absorption of manganese by rice under flooded and unflooded conditions

Summary Manganese absorption by rice plants under flooded and unflooded conditions, in an upland and a lowland soil was studied. Both under flooded and unflooded conditions the rate of manganese absorption was high during 3rd to 4th week and again during 9th to 10th week.Rice grown under flooded conditions, in lowland soil absorbed more manganese and showed higher dry matter accumulation than under unflooded conditions. However manganese absorption and dry matter accumulation in rice grown under flooded conditions in upland soil were lower than under unflooded conditions.Rice grown under flooded conditions may give lower yields than rice grown under unflooded conditions due to some factor or combination of factors one of which may possibly be a high soluble iron content which interferes with the absorption of manganese.     

Altitudinal variations in germination and growth responses ofReynoutria japonica populations on Mt Fuji to a controlled thermal environment

The authors examined altitudinal variations in the thermal responses of seed germination and seedling growth inReynoutria japonica (=Polygonum cuspidatum) under controlled environmental conditions. Seed populations were collected from different altitudes on Mt Fuji in Japan. The mean seed weight of the upland populations (above 1500 m) was significantly (1.5-fold) heavier than that of the lowland populations (below 1400 m). Under the lowest temperature regime of 15/10°C (day/night) the upland populations showed a significantly higher percentage and speed of germination than the lowland populations; this was not significant under higher temperature regimes. These results indicate that the germination traits of the upland populations on Mt Fuji are favorable for colonization in their cold habitats (low temperature and short growing season). Growth and shoot development were compared between the seedlings grown from seeds collected at altitudes of 700 and 2420 m. The upland seedlings showed a significantly larger biomass and leaf area than the lowland seedlings at 15°C, but there was no difference at 25°C. The difference in biomass at 15°C was attributed to the difference in seed weight. The upland seedlings produced a significantly larger number of branches with smaller and more numerous leaves at both 15°C and 25°C. these developmental traits of the upland seedlings were considered to represent the adaptation of the life form to upland environments. It was concluded that theR. japonica populations along an altitudinal gradient on Mt Fuji can be classified into two ecotypes, whose distribution border lies at an altitude of about 1400–1500m. In this study, the seed weight and germination traits of twoR. japonica seed populations collected in Chiba Prefecture were briefly compared with those of the lowland populations on Mt Fuji.     

Genetic diversity analysis of traditional and improved Indonesian rice (Oryza sativa L.) germplasm using microsatellite markers

The archipelago of Indonesia has a long history of rice production across a broad range of rice-growing environments resulting in a diverse array of local Indonesian rice varieties. Although some have been incorporated into modern breeding programs, the vast majority of these landraces remain untapped. To better understand this rich source of genetic diversity we have characterized 330 rice accessions, including 246 Indonesian landraces and 63 Indonesian improved cultivars, using 30 fluorescently-labeled microsatellite markers. The landraces were selected across 21 provinces and include representatives of the classical subpopulations of cere, bulu, and gundil rices. A total of 394 alleles were detected at the 30 simple sequence repeat loci, with an average number of 13 alleles per locus across all accessions, and an average polymorphism information content value of 0.66. Genetic diversity analysis characterized the Indonesian landraces as 68% indica and 32% tropical japonica, with an indica gene diversity of 0.53 and a tropical japonica gene diversity of 0.56, and a Fst of 0.38 between the two groups. All of the improved varieties sampled were indica, and had an average gene diversity of 0.46. A set of high quality Indonesian varieties, including Rojolele, formed a separate cluster within the tropical japonicas. This germplasm presents a valuable source of diversity for future breeding and association mapping efforts.     

Metabolic adaptation to flooding stress in upland and lowland rice seedlings

Ability of metabolic adaptation in upland and lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings to flooding stress was compared. Flooding stress increased alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity and ethanol concentration in shoots and roots of the upland and lowland rice seedlings. The difference in ADH activity and ethanol concentration in shoots between the upland and lowland rice was not apparent. However, both ADH activity and ethanol concentration in roots of the lowland rice were 2-fold greater than those in roots of the upland rice, suggesting that flooding-induction of ethanolic fermentation in lowland rice roots may be significantly greater than that in the upland rice roots. Since flooding often causes the anaerobic conditions in rooting zone than aerial part of plants and ethanolic fermentation is essential to survive in the anaerobic conditions, the ability of metabolic adaptation in lowland rice seedlings to flooding stress may be greater than that in upland rice seedlings.     

Proteomics to identify pathogenesis-related proteins in rice roots under water deficit

Upland and lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.) showed different mechanisms of water stress resistance. Hydroponically grown 3-week-old seedlings of a lowland variety IR64 and an upland variety were exposed to 15% polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000). After 7 d of treatment, IR64 maintained high relative water content and developed a well-branched root. Therefore, IR64 had better water-deficit tolerance than Azucena under PEG treatment. To identify water-deficit-responsive proteins associated with the tolerance differences between two ecotypes, a comparative proteomic analysis of roots was conducted. Out of 700 proteins reproducibly detected on two-dimensional electrophoresis gels, 65 proteins exhibited significant changes in at least one ecotype at 48 h of water deficit. Only 15 proteins showed different responses to water deficit between the two ecotypes. Twelve proteins were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight/time of flight-mass spectrometry, which involved in energy and metabolism, protein processing and degradation, detoxification and pathogenrelated (PR) proteins, i.e. PR-1a, RSOsPR10 and JIOsPR10. All three PR proteins were induced more strongly in IR64 than in Azucena by water deficit at both protein and mRNA level. The results suggested that PR-1a, RSOsPR10 and JIOsPR10 may play important roles in protecting root cells against water deficit in rice.     

Whole plant responses, key processes, and adaptation to drought stress: the case of rice

Most high-yielding rice cultivars developed for irrigated conditions, including the widely grown lowland variety IR64, are highly susceptible to drought stress. This limits their adoption in rainfed rice environments where there is a risk of water shortage during the growing season. Mapping studies using lowland-by-upland rice populations have provided limited information about the genetic basis of variation in yield under drought. One approach to simultaneously improve and understand rice drought tolerance is to generate backcross populations, select superior lines in managed stress environments, and then evaluate which features of the selected lines differ from the recurrent parent. This approach was been taken with IR64, using a range of tolerant and susceptible cultivars as donor parents. Yields of the selected lines measured across 13 widely contracting water environments were generally greater than IR64, but genotype-by-environment effects were large. Traits expected to vary between IR64 and selected lines are plant height, because many donors were not semi-dwarf types, and maturity, because selection in a terminal stress environment is expected to favour earliness. In these experiments it was found that some lines that performed better under upland drought were indeed taller than IR64, but that shorter lines with good yield under drought could also be identified. In trials where drought stress developed in previously flooded (lowland) fields, height was not associated with performance. There was little change in maturity with selection. Other notable differences between IR64 and the selected backcross lines were in their responses to applied ABA and ethylene in greenhouse experiments at the vegetative stage and in leaf rolling observed under chronic upland stress in the field. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that adaptive responses to drought can effectively allow for improved performance across a broad range of water environments. The results indicate that the yield of IR64 under drought can be significantly improved by backcrossing with selection under stress. In target environments where drought is infrequent but significant in certain years, improved IR64 with greater drought tolerance would be a valuable option for farmers.     

Adaptation to flooding in upland and lowland ecotypes of Cyperus rotundus, a troublesome sedge weed of rice: tuber morphology and carbohydrate metabolism

Background and aims

In recent years, Cyperus rotundus has become a problem weed in lowland rice (Oryza sativa) grown in rotation with vegetables in the Philippines. As the growth of C. rotundus is commonly suppressed by prolonged flooding, the ability of the weed to grow vigorously in flooded as well as upland conditions suggests that adapted ecotypes occur in these rotations. Studies were conducted to elucidate the mechanisms that permit C. rotundus to tolerate flooded soil conditions.

Methods

Upland and lowland ecotypes of C. rotundus were compared in terms of growth habit, carbohydrate reserves and metabolism, and activities of enzymes involved in alcoholic fermentation – alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC).

Key Results

The lowland ecotype has much larger tubers than the upland ecotype. Prior to germination, the amylase activity and total non-structural carbohydrate content in the form of soluble sugars were greater in the tubers of lowland plants than in those of upland C. rotundus. At 24 h after germination in hypoxic conditions, PDC and ADH activities in the lowland plants increased, before decreasing at 48 h following germination. In contrast, ADH and PDC activities in the upland plants increased from 24 to 48 h after germination.

Conclusions

Tolerance of lowland C. rotundus of flooding may be attributed to large carbohydrate content and amylase activity, and the ability to maintain high levels of soluble sugars in the tubers during germination and early growth. This is coupled with the modulation of ADH and PDC activities during germination, possibly to control the use of carbohydrate reserves and sustain substrate supply in order to avoid starvation and death of seedlings with prolonged flooding.Key words: Anoxia, ethanol fermentation, flooding tolerance, nutsedge, Cyperus rotundus, Pasteur effect, weed ecology     

Subtle topographical differences along a floodplain promote different plant strategies among Paspalum dilatatum subspecies and populations

It was hypothesised that subtle topographical differences might cause the existence of ecotypes along a floodplain. The apomict grass Paspalum dilatatum subspecies dilatatum inhabits flood‐prone lowlands as well as nearby uplands in the floodplains of Argentina, while the sexual P. dilatatum subspecies flavescens almost exclusively inhabits the uplands. The aim of the present study was to identify the different traits that allow these P. dilatatum populations to inhabit different habitats. Plants of P. dilatatum were reciprocally transplanted between uplands and lowlands. Morphophysiological traits related to flooding tolerance were measured during a flood. Subspecies dilatatum from the uplands and subspecies flavescens showed a high physiological performance in the uplands but a considerable decrease in stomatal conductance, net photosynthesis rates and tiller number in the flooded lowlands. In contrast, the subspecies dilatatum from the lowlands showed relatively lower and stable stomatal conductance, photosynthesis rates and leaf water potential at both sites. Subspecies dilatatum from the lowlands outperformed upland populations at the lowland site with respect to tillering. Leaves of subspecies dilatatum from the lowlands that had grown at the lowland habitat had a lower blade/sheath proportion than leaves of plants transplanted to the uplands. This behavior did not occur in both upland populations. Results suggest that dilatatum Lowland plants have the typical strategy of stress‐tolerant genotypes and that the upland populations are adapted to habitats where competitive species are selected. In conclusion, habitats with subtle differences in topographic level can favour both ecotypic differentiations within an apomict subspecies but also the maintenance of morphophysiological similitudes between coexisting upland populations belonging to different subspecies.     

Leaf gas exchange of upland and lowland rice cultivars

Leaf gas exchange of upland and lowland rice cultivars were measured during late vegetative and during grain filling stages in the field under upland and lowland growth conditions. The rate of photosynthesis and water use efficiency (the rate of photosynthesis/the rate of transpiration) under upland conditions decreased with ageing, but generally varied little among four cultivars. At mid-grain filling under lowland conditions, upland cultivars showed lower rates of photosynthesis and transpiration than the lowland cultivars with concomitant reduction in whole plant conductance. At this stage, water use efficiency was higher under upland conditions than under lowland conditions, particularly in the upland cultivars. Water stress reduced the rate of photosynthesis without altering water use efficiency.     

Herbicides for Establishing Switchgrass in the Central and Northern Great Plains

Weed interference limits switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) establishment from seed. Our objectives were to determine the effect of selected post-plant, preemergence herbicides on stand establishment and subsequent biomass yields of adapted upland switchgrass cultivars grown in three environments in the Central and Northern Great Plains. A separate experiment was conducted in eastern Nebraska to determine if there were any differences among switchgrass ecotypes for herbicide tolerance to the optimal herbicide combination. Herbicides applied immediately after planting were different concentrations of atrazine [Aatrex 4L®; 6-chloro-N-ethyl-N′-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine], quinclorac (Paramount®; 3,7-Dichloro-8-quinolinecarboxylic acid), atrazine+quinclorac, imazapic {Plateau®; 2-[4,5-dihydro-4-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-5-oxo-1H-imidazol-2-yl]-5-methyl-3-pyridinecarboxylic acid}, and quinclorac+imazapic. Herbicide efficacy was determined by measuring stand frequency of occurrence and biomass yield the year after establishment. The application of quinclorac plus atrazine resulted in acceptable stands and high biomass yields. Imazapic often reduced switchgrass stands in comparison to the nontreated control and is not recommended for switchgrass establishment. In the multi-state trials, the herbicide by cultivar interaction was not significant for stands or biomass yields, indicating that the effects of herbicides on switchgrass stands and biomass yields were consistent over the upland cultivars used in the trials. No differences were detected among switchgrass lowland and upland ecotypes for tolerance to atrazine and quinclorac. Quinclorac, which provides effective control of grassy weeds, and herbicides such as atrazine which provide good broadleaf weed control are an excellent herbicide combination for establishing switchgrass for biomass production in the Great Plains and the Midwest.