The efficiency of visual assessment of grain yield and its components in spring barley rows

The efficiency of visual assessment for grain yield and its components in spring barley rows was examined using a number of assessors. In 20 out of 28 combinations of assessor and character, only 20 or less lines were needed to be retained from the set of 99 lines to save at least 50% of the best 10 lines. Assessments of tillers/row and to a lesser extent 1000-grain weight were generally more effective than assessments of yield/row and grain/ear. The low effectiveness of assessment of grains/ear was attributed to inadequate sampling of ears. Four out of five assessors showed bias towards assessment of tillers/row, the most easily assessed character, in their assessments of yield/row. Experienced barley workers were more successful in their assessments than others less familiar with the crop. Specially developed keys, aimed at making visual assessment more objective, generally had only small positive effects on the efficiency of assessment. Repeated assessments of characters by some assessors were consistent. It was concluded that visual assessment rather than direct measurement should be recognised as a basic tool of breeding in the early generations, using a large number of lines as a ‘safety net’ allowing the loss of some of the best lines.     

Visual assessment of grain yield and its components in single plants and ears of spring barley

Visual assessments of yield/plant and tillers/plant were more effective than unaided assessments of grains/ear and 1000-grain weight on a per plant basis. Assessments of the latter yield components were generally improved by the use of specially developed keys described by Ismail & Valentine (1983). Gains in efficiency were associated with the amount of extra time spent on making these assessments. Assessments of yield/ear were not more effective than assessments of yield/plant. This was attributed to the ease of assessment of tillers/plant which was strongly associated with yield/plant. Assessments of grains/ear and 1000-grain weight in single ears were clearly more effective than corresponding assessments in single plants in which there is high variability between ears. Apart from using keys, further improvements in the assessments of grains/ear and 1000-grain weight are necessary in order to increase the effectiveness of single plant selection in the F₂ generation which is the first opportunity of increasing yield in later generations.     

Variation in monoculture and in mixture for grain yield and other characters in spring barley

Fourteen north-west European spring barley cultivars were grown alone or in binary mixtures sampled according to a partial diallel scheme. On the basis of the association between cultivars in mixture and monoculture, three groups of characters were distinguished. Group A characters, plant height, ear weight/tiller, grain yield/tiller, number of grains/tiller and 1000-grain weight, showed strong positive associations between performance in monoculture and mixture. Group B characters, number of tillers/plant and harvest index showed incomplete positive associations, while for group C characters, dry matter/plant, ear weight/plant, grain yield/plant and number of grains/plant, associations were weak or non-existent. Compound characters in group C showed less genetic variation in monoculture and lower general competitive effects in mixture than component characters in groups A or B. These results clearly indicate that while selection for grain yield and other characters on a per plant basis (group C characters) is confounded by intergenotypic competition, characters such as the yield components number of grains/tiller and 1000-grain weight (group A characters) are hardly affected in this range of cultivars. Selection for opposing group A characters may start in the F₂ generation, while any selection for group B and C characters should be delayed until later generations. The merits of indirect selection for yield using visual assessment of yield components are discussed. Separate analyses obtained by the inclusion of spring wheat cv. Timmo in monoculture and in the set of mixtures indicated that the use of spring wheat plants to minimise intergenotypic competition ranges from superfluous (group A characters) to useless (group C characters). A large degree of mixture advantage and the lack of complementary dominance and suppression between competitor and associate was attributed to the relatively low density of plants in the experiment which, though suitable for single plant selection, is not typical of normal seed rates for cropping.     

土壤含水量与头季稻和再生稻产量的关系

土壤含水量与头季稻和再生稻产量的关系熊洪ＳｏｍｂａｔＣｈｉｎａｗｏｎｇ（四川省农科院水稻高粱所,泸州６４６１００）（ＫａｓｅｔｓａｒｔＵｎｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙ,Ｂａｎｇｋｏｋ７３１４０）ＲｅｌａｔｉｏｎｓｈｉｐＢｅｔｗｅｅｎＳｏｉｌＷａｔｅｒＣｏｎｔｅｎ...     

培矮64S/爪哇稻F1农艺性状表现和对照优势分析

本文报道了利用原始爪哇稻资源与光温敏雄性不育系培矮64S配制的27个籼爪交组合在长沙的农艺性状和杂种优势表现.从总体上来看,籼爪交组合与对照相比在每穗实粒数和理论产量上无显著差异,在其它性状上均有极显著的差异;籼爪交组合在秆高、穗长、每穗总粒数、每穗实粒数和千粒重方面有正向对照优势,在播始历期、有效分蘖数、结实率、理论产量和实际产量上存在负向对照优势.从个体上来看,籼爪交组合理论产量对照优势＞40%的比例为11.1%.实际产量对照优势＞40%的机率为3.7%,说明爪哇稻资源在籼爪交杂种优势利用中具有利用价值.本文还对爪哇稻资源在籼爪杂种优势利用中的一些问题进行了讨论.     

Complementing cultural weed control with plant allelopathy: Implications for improved weed management in wheat crop

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an important cereal crop in Pakistan which is suffering from major grain production loss because of weed infestations. Control of weeds by herbicides is a primary weed management tool in wheat crop which can be detrimental to the environment and grain produce. Development of an efficient and eco-friendly alternate to the herbicidal weed control, testing the effectiveness of cultural weed control (crop row orientation, selected wheat genotypes and hand weeding) and plants water extracts was undertaken for weed control in wheat. An experiment was run under field conditions in winter season in 2016–2017 and in 2017–2018 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. The repeated experiment was each time undertaken using a randomized complete block design with a double split plot arrangements at the New Developmental Farm, University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan. The crop row orientations used were assigned to the main plots. The wheat genotypes used were assigned to the sub-plots. The allelopathic water extracts and hand weeding were assigned to the sub-sub plots. The averaged mean values for row orientations of both the years revealed lowest weed density (95.7 weeds m^?2), highest grains per spike (47.3), 1000 grains weight (44.7 g) in north to south row orientation. The averaged mean values of weed density (101.6 weeds m^?2), grains per spike (48.2), 1000 grains weight (45.9 g), crude protein content (12.793%), crude fat content (1.533%) and ash content (1.586%) were greater for the wheat genotype Pirsabaq-2013 and Atta-Habib-2010. Water extract of S. halepense, P. hysterophorus, H. annuus and hand weeding showed significantly lower weed density (84.0 to 93.3), grains per spike (50.9 to 48.3), 1000 grains weight (48.3 to 46.2 g), grains protein content (12.280 to 12.209%), grains crude fat content (1.471 to 1.464%) and grains ash content (1.523 to 1.515%). Interaction effect of different tested weed control treatments i.e. N-S × Pirsabaq-2013 and Atta-Habib-2010 × water extract of S. halepense, P. hysterophorus and H. annuus were found to show further reduction in weed density and enhance grains per spike and grains nutrition contributing parameters. Our results show that sowing wheat genotypes Pirsabaq-2013 and Atta-Habib-2010 in north-to-south row orientation, and application of water extract of S. halepense, P. hysterophorus, H. annuus can give an effective weed management and increased quality grain yield of wheat.     

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE GROWTH OF WILD OATS (AVENA FATUA L. AND A. LUDOVICIANA DUR.) AND OF CULTIVATED CEREALS WITH VARIED NITROGEN SUPPLY

Growth analysis of wild oats ( Avena fatua and A. ludoviciana ) grown in pots with different levels of nitrogen supply showed many similarities to spring barley, winter oats and winter wheat.
Small differences that could affect competition between wild oats and cereals occurred mainly in the seedlings. Wild oat seedlings were smaller than the corresponding cultivated cereals in total dry weight, total nitrogen content, leaf area and number of shoots. However, very young wild oat plants had higher net assimilation rates than the cultivated cereals and soon caught up and passed them. The difference in net assimilation rate did not persist, and in the later stages of growth differences in dry-matter production depended mainly on differences in leaf area. Another important difference between wild oats and cultivated cereals was that 98–100% of the wild oat seeds and none of the crop seeds were dormant 2 months after harvest.
Ear emergence in wild oats spread over a longer period, the range of ear heights was greater and the tallest ears were taller than in the corresponding cultivated cereals. Assimilation in the ear appeared to account for less of the total dry matter of the plants of wild and cultivated oats than of wheat. The wild oats produced more seeds per plant than the cultivated cereals, but the 1000-grain weight, and hence the total dry weight of seeds, was lower in the weeds than in the crop.
Addition of nitrogen to the soil affected the growth of the wild oats in the same ways as the cultivated cereals; they took up the same amount of nitrogen per plant as winter oats and winter wheat but more than spring barley.
It is concluded that wild oats are most susceptible in the seedling stage to competition from the crop and that nitrogenous fertilizer applied to an infested field is unlikely to alter the balance between the yields of crop and of wild oats.     

A Pyramid Breeding of Eight Grain-yield Related Quantitative Trait Loci Based on Marker-assistant and Phenotype Selection in Rice （Oryza sativa L.）

1000-Grain weight and spikelet number per panicle are two important components for rice grain yield.In our previous study,eight quantitative trait loci(QTLs)conferring spikelet number per panicle and 1000-grain weight were mapped through sequencing-based genotyping of 150 rice recombinant inbred lines(RILs).In this study,we validated the effects of four QTLs from Nipponbare using chromosome segment substitution lines(CSSLs),and pyramided eight grain yield related QTLs.The new lines containing the eight QTLs with positive effects showed increased panicle and spikelet size as compared with the parent variety 93-11.We further proposed a novel pyramid breeding scheme based on marker-assistant and phenotype selection(MAPS).This scheme allowed pyramiding of as many as 24 QTLs at a single hybridization without massive cross work.This study provided insights into the molecular basis of rice grain yield for direct wealth for high-yielding rice breeding.     

Genetics of transgressive segregation for yield and yield components in wheat

Three crosses of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L. em Thell) involving six cultivars (WC29, WH291, SGP 14, RAJ. 1972, WH377 and HD 2329) were selected on the basis of combining ability analysis to study genetics of transgressive segregation for tillers/plant, grains/spike, 1000 grain weight and grain yield/plant using various mating designs. Diallel analysis indicated that both additive and non- additive components were significant for all the characters. On the basis of general combining ability and specific combining ability effects, the parents WH 291 and WH 377 were found to be good general combiners for tillers/ plant, 1000 grain weight and grain yield/plant. For grains/spike SGP 14 was found to be a good general combiner. The cross WH 377 × HD 2329 for tillers/plant, SGP 14 × Raj. 1972 for grains/spike and grain yield/plant and WC 29 × WH 291 for 1000 grain weight were found to be good cross combinations. Generation mean analysis indicated that the additive-dominance model was inadequate for all the characters in all the crosses except for 1000 grain weight in WC29 × WH291. Additive component was more pronounced than non-additive components for all the characters in all the crosses except for tillers/ plant in WH 377 × HD 2329. Predictions for transgressive segregants from F₃ was more accurate than that from generation mean analysis. However, prediction from both the sources were equally efficient if additive-dominance model was adequate. In general, observed frequencies of transgressive segregants were more in F₂ and BIPi than F₄ but the majority of them were discarded on progeny testing. Biparental mating had an impact in increasing the frequencies of transgressive segregants for different characters in all the crosses. The crosses, WH 377 × HD 2329 for grain yield/ plant, SGP 14 × Raj. 1972 for tillers/plant and WC 29 × WH 291 for grains/spike and 1000 grain weight were found to be potential crosses for transgressive segregants. A comparison of combining ability of parents and crosses, and observed and predicted frequencies of transgressive segregants indicated that the potential crosses for transgressive segregants were those that had high sea effects and involved high and low general combiners. The crosses involving low general combiners irrespective of their sea effects showed poor performance with respect to transgressive segregation.     

杂交水稻产量性状配合力研究

利用 9个不育系和 7个恢复系配制 40个杂交组合 ,对 6个产量性状的亲本一般配合力和组合特殊配合力效应进行分析。结果表明 ,杂种一代 (F1)各性状的形成同时受亲本一般配合力和组合特殊配合力的影响。单株穗数、每穗总粒数、千粒重三性状主要受一般配合力作用 ;每穗实粒数、结实率、单株粒重三性状则一般配合力和组合特殊配合力的作用同样明显 ,或特殊配合力作用更明显些。不育系珍汕 97A、龙特浦A、K1 8A和恢复系明恢 63、直龙、1 0 2 5的一般配合力高 ,利用它们容易配制出高产组合。两年试验结果千粒重、单株粒重二性状的形成均是不育系的作用大于恢复系 ,近期育种工作重点应放在不育系的选育上。     

低磷胁迫对小麦代换系产量性状的影响及染色体效应

以中国春-Synthetic 6x染色体代换系及其亲本为材料,通过测定不同磷处理条件下的产量性状（单穗粒数、穗粒重、千粒重）,对耐低磷胁迫特性的基因进行染色体定位。结果表明,低磷胁迫下,Synthetic 6x的6A、7A、1B、2B、3B、4B、5B、6B、7D染色体上可能携有促进单穗粒重的相关基因;2A、5A、6A、3B、5B、6B、7B、5D、7D染色体上可能携有促进千粒重的有关基因;6A、7A、1B、3B、2D、7D染色体上携有促进单穗粒数的相关基因。表明Synthetic 6x的6A、3B、7D染色体上可能携有与耐低磷胁迫特性有关的基因。     

Hybrid performance and genetic distance as revealed by the (GATA)4 microsatellite and RAPD markers in pearl millet

 Genetic diversity in five cytoplasmic male-sterile and seven restorer lines of pearl millet was determined by DNA fingerprinting using a (GATA)₄ microsatellite and randomly amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs). A total of 160 polymorphic loci were generated and, based on the polymorphism data, similarity index values ranged from 0.81 to 0.50. Cluster analysis was performed and relationships among these lines revealed that they were not in agreement with the available pedigree data. The per se performance of parents and hybrids was analyzed for days-to-50% flowering, plant height, productive tillers, ear length, ear width, 1000-grain weight and grain yield per plot. Path co-efficient analysis revealed that productive tillers, ear width and days-to-50% flowering had a relatively large positive effect. The correlation values were mostly not significant with respect to genetic distance, except for days-to-50% flowering, ear length and ear width. Our results have indicated that genetic-distance measures based on the (GATA)₄ microsatellite and RAPDs may be useful for the grouping of parents, but not for predicting heterotic combinations, in pearl millet. Received: 3 January 1998 / Accepted: 25 February 1998     

黍稷农艺性状的主成分分析与聚类分析

对国家种质资源库中收集保存的8016份黍稷种质资源的株高、千粒重、生育期等11个农艺性状进行主成分分析和聚类分析,结果表明：主要农艺性状可归纳为千粒重、主茎节数、主穗长、株高、穗型、花序色、粒色、米色8个主成分,累计贡献率为86．44％;8016份黍稷种质资源可分成5大组群,各个组群都有一定的形态学特征,其中组群4的1301份种质资源的主茎节数多,单株产量、千粒重都比较大,综合性状表现较好。     

Quality losses in wheat caused by the orange wheat blossom midge Sitodiplosis mosellana

In three sets of data pooled over spring wheat varieties and lines a number of grain quality measurements were related to the levels of infestation by Sitodiplosis mosellana larvae. The Hagberg falling number value was negatively correlated with the proportion of damaged grains. The 1000-grain weight, protein content and gluten content were not affected. Differences between cultivars in infestation and damage level were found to depend on the development phenology (timing of ear emergence) and on the percentage of damaged grains remaining in the yield after harvest. The falling number values were reduced most when the attainable values remained low in cultivars prone to sprouting damage, and in seasons with unfavourable weather conditions for quality maintenance. The proportion of damaged grains in relation to the number of larvae was well described by a logit-transformed regression. Sampling for infestation level and preventive measures against quality loss are discussed.     

播栽期对水稻产量和产量构成因素及生育期的影响

研究了不同播栽期对水稻产量和产量构成因素及生育期的影响。结果表明 ,随播栽期推迟 ,水稻产量有所降低。每穗成粒数减少是推迟播栽期引起水稻减产的主要原因 ,其次是千粒重的下降和成穗数的降低。针对目前的生产实际 ,提出了一些应对播栽期推迟的技术措施。     

Genetic diversity in exotic oat germplasm & resistance against barley yellow dwarf virus

Oat (Avena sativa L.) is an important fodder crop of Pakistan, though with low productivity. The present study was conducted to evaluate the performance and genetic diversity of exotic oat germplasm, with emphasis on cereal yellow dwarf virus resistance. A total of 16 exotic line (introduced from Aarhus University Denmark) and 1 local line (provided by The University of Agriculture Peshawar), were grown during the season 2017–18 in Completely Randomized Block Design with three replications across two locations of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa i.e., Peshawar and Kohat. Field testing enabled to collect the data on BYDV incidence, BYDV severity, aphid infestation, plant height, leaf area, panicle length, panicle weight, spikelets per panicle, 1000 grain weight (g), grain yield (g), biological yield (g) and harvest index (%). Prevalence of BYDV was variable across location and over time. Six weeks data showed high disease pressure at Peshawar (85%), with SA-O-01 genotype having AUDPC value of 95%. Almost all the varieties showed less tolerance towards the Aphids attack. Line SA-O-15 showed the maximum 1000 grain weight (42.6 g) at Kohat, while SA-O-4 showed the maximum 1000 grain weight (60.7 g) at Peshawar. Line SA-O-05 (3634 g per (0.9 m²) plot) gave the maximum biological yield at Kohat station, while Line SA-O-01 gave the maximum biological yield (2517 g) at Peshawar. Mean grain yield for Kohat was recorded 0.155 g per (0.9 m²) plot while for Peshawar it was 0.231 g per (0.9 m²) plot. At Kohat line SA-O-10 produced the maximum grain yield (0.229 g), while line SA-O-12 produced the maximum grain yield at Peshawar (0.288 g). Molecular genotyping with a set of 4 RAPD primers revealed substantial diversity among17 oat lines. A total of 23 loci were amplified showing a high level of variations and polymorphism among the proposed lines. The maximum number of loci was recorded for GLA-04 (8), while the minimum number of loci was recorded for GLD-18 (4). Among the tested RAPD primers the maximum gene diversity (0.529) was recorded for loci GLA-03B230, GLA-04B130, GLA-04B300, GLB-05B150 and GLA-18B100 while the minimum (0.118) genetic diversity was recorded for loci GLA-03B600, GLB-05B330 and GLA-18B500. A clear divergence was found between most of the exotic oat lines. The observed genetic diversity in exotic oat germplasm and its resistance towards Barley Yellow Dwarf virus could be useful for oat genetic improvement and broadening the genetic background of cultivated oat germplasm.     

冬小麦(Triticum aestivum)分蘖冗余生态学意义以及减少冗余对水分利用效率的影响

通过盆栽试验,以旱作冬小麦(Triticum aestivum)为材料,分别在拔节和抽穗期对分蘖进行人工干扰,来模拟不可预测的自然干扰,对冬小麦分蘖冗余的生态学意义以及减少这些冗余对水分利用效率影响进行研究.设置3个处理:从拔节期开始剪去所有小的分蘖,仅保留主茎和一个大的分蘖(A);在拔节期剪去主茎和两个大的分蘖,保留所有小的分蘖(B);在孕穗期剪去主茎和有效分蘖,保留无效分蘖(C).没有被干扰的植物作为对照(CK).通过花期测定叶片的叶绿素含量、叶绿素荧光参数、气孔导度和蒸腾速率等生理指标来评价植物的生理与生化活性.结果显示,在拔节期和抽穗期去除主茎和大蘖后,无效分蘖的生理活性被激活,开始执行有效分蘖的功能.到花期时,这些无效分蘖已经在生理活性上满足了补充和替代有效茎的要求.虽然株高和穗的整齐度、穗数和产量显著下降,但并没有防碍小麦的繁衍子代,因此,正是这些由早期"无效分蘖"补充而来的有效茎,避免了小麦绝种的风险.而在拔节期去除无效分蘖后,对小麦产量没有显著影响,但提高了水分利用效率,和对照相比水分利用效率提高了10%.因此,可以认为小麦在分蘖上存在着对水分利用不利的生长冗余,减少这些冗余有望节约用水、提高作物的水分利用效率.     

The effects of growth regulators on somaclonal variation in rye (Secale cereale L.) and selection of somaclonal variants with increased agronomic traits

The aim of this research was to characterize somaclonal variation in populations derived from embryos cultured on two types of induction medium (supplemented with either 2,4-D or dicamba), as well as to select and characterize several somaclonal lines. The sexual progenies of 40 R(0)regenerants - A somaclones (derived on the medium with 2,4-D) and B somaclones (derived on the medium with dicamba) - were analysed according to the following traits: plant height, total number of tillers, number of productive tillers, spike length, number of spikelets per spike, spike compactness, number of normally developed grains per spike, weight of grains per spike, and the weight of 1000 grains. The results for twenty-two R(1)plants surpassed the variability range for the control. The transmission of positive changes to the next generation was proved in the case of 8 originally chosen R(1) plants: 7 plants selected from the A somaclones and one plant from the B somaclones. Five out of the eight created somaclonal lines proved to be stable somaclonal variants. The absolute rate of the efficiency of positive somaclonal changes was calculated as 0.64%.     

The development and yield of autumn- and spring-sown barley in south east Scotland

As part of a study of the relationship between plant development and grain yield, winter and spring barleys were sown in the autumn and spring. Apical development and leaf area development were monitored and the final yield was partitioned into grain weight and grain number. The photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) absorbed was calculated.
The main differences found were between sowings rather than between genotypes within sowings. The autumn sowing outyielded the spring sowing because the grains were heavier, although the autumn sowing tended to have fewer grains m^-2. In the autumn sowing the rate of initiation of spikelet primordia was slower, due to the lower temperatures encountered, but the initiation phase lasted longer and a larger proportion of primordia survived. However, the increased proportions of tillers to mainstem reduced the mean number of grains/ear.
The numbers of grains m^-2 and the yield were related to the PAR absorbed. In this analysis the earlier anthesis of the autumn-sown plants could be seen to be reducing the PAR absorbed and consequently the grains m^-2.     

水稻半矮生基因sd－1的遗传性状表现──Ⅳ．半矮生性与大粒性的结合

为克服水稻半矮生基因ｓｄ－１减小粒重的副作用,培育了半矮生粳稻型大粒品种。本研究用具有大粒基因ｌｋ－ｆ的高秆品种房吉和具有半矮生基因ｓｄ－１系统ＳＣ－ＴＮ１的杂种进行了鉴定分析。结果表明,选育的半矮生系统的千位重均较ＳＣ－ＴＮ１有所提高,并出现了千粒重３０克以上的系统。亲子代的相关分析表明,粒长间有高度的正相关。充分说明,ｓｄ－１的半矮生性和大粒性的结合是可能的。因此指出,通过选择适当的大粒种质资源与ｓｄ－１基因组合,使半矮生性的抗倒伏和大粒的丰产性一体化,可以培育成丰产性更高的粳稻品种。