Some influences of CO2 enrichment, nitrogen nutrition and competition on grain yield and quality in spring wheat and barley

Spring wheat and spring barley were grown in elevated atmosphericCO₂ in controlled environments. Wheat was grown in monocultureand in competition with three weed species. In monoculture,wheat had 30% more grain yield and 28% less grain nitrogen inelevated compared to ambient atmospheric CO₂- In competition,wheat had no significant increase in yield with elevated atmosphericCO₂- In competition, grain nitrogen concentration was reducedin response to CO₂ with the largest reduction occurring withthe smallest competitor and the smallest reduction occurringwith the largest competitor. Spring barley was grown in monocultureat three nitrogen fertilizer supplies. In elevated atmosphericCO₂ there were significant increases in grain yield and reductionsin grain nitrogen concentration at all levels of nitrogen supply.In both species the reductions in grain nitrogen concentrationwere large enough to affect current bread making processes. Key words: Grain nitrogen, weeds, wheat, barley     

The nitrogen fertilization of spring barley

Summary From 1971 to 1979 field trials with increasing rates of fertilizer nitrogen on spring barley with sugar beet as the preceding crop were conducted on a farm on sandy loam in the south western part of The Netherlands. Prior to sowing and fertilizing soil samples were taken and analysed for mineral nitrogen (N_min). The average yield increase through application of fertilizer nitrogen was only 750 kg of grain per ha per year, the maximum yield being about 5 tonnes per ha. In the case of a fixed rate of fertilizer nitrogen per annum it can be derived from the response curves that 60 kg of N would have given the smallest average yield deficit (170 kg grain per ha) in comparison with maximum yields. With an N-advisory system based on soil analysis the average yield deficit would be at a minimum (163 kg of grain per ha) with a value for mineral soil nitrogen+fertilizer nitrogen totalling 120 kg N per ha.No relationship was found between optimum rate of fertilizer nitrogen and the amount of mineral soil nitrogen at the end of the winter. This was ascribed to the relatively small variation in mineral soil nitrogen and the weak response of the crop to fertilizer nitrogen.Promising results from nitrogen fertilizing systems based on soil analysis can be expected from more responsive crops like winter wheat, sugar beets and potatoes.With the average yield deficit compared with maximum yield as a characteristic, the usefulness of any N-advisory system can be compared, taking a fixed rate of nitrogen system as a standard.Seconded by the Agricultural Bureau of the Netherlands Fertilizer Industry (LBNM).     

Effects of fungicide treatments and variety on development, grain growth and yield of spring barley

The effects of four fungicide treatments for the control of mildew on spring barley were assessed in three field experiments, one in each of the years 1981, 1982, 1983. The fungicide treatments (+/ - triadimenol seed treatment and +/ - triadimefon foliar spray applied during early booting) were chosen to control mildew, and hence affect yield determining processes, at different times in the life of the crop. Two of the experiments also tested different nitrogen amounts and the third tested four varieties differing in their degree of mildew resistance. Mildew appeared too late to affect the production and survival of spikelets and shoots, but reduced average grain weight by reducing the rate of grain growth. Grains in the upper part of the ear had a considerably lower growth rate and final weight than grains in central and basal positions but there was no evidence that the effects of mildew on grain size depended upon grain position within the ear. Mildew incidence increased with increasing nitrogen and varietal susceptibility but there were few significant interactions between these factors and fungicide treatment for grain yield. The degree of mildew control achieved by the seed treatment varied with barley variety. Use of the two successive fungicide treatments did not yield more barley than use of either alone. Amongst varieties, grain positions within the ear and fungicide treatments there was a close correlation between rate of grain growth and final grain weight. Duration of grain growth was not related to rate of grain growth or final grain weight but was inversely correlated with mean temperature during the period of rapid grain growth. The temperature sums during the period of rapid grain growth were similar for the three years and it is suggested that a more precise knowledge of the relationships between mildew incidence, varietal susceptibility and rate of grain growth may enable more accurate predictions to be made about likely yield responses to fungicide treatments.     

Observations on the effects of mildew, Erysiphe graminis, on growth of spring and winter barley

In field plots, early and severe attacks of powdery mildew on spring barley plants greatly reduced the vigour, decreased the amount of root, the number of ear-bearing tillers and the grain size. In less severe, or later attacks, mildew mainly affected the grain size. On winter barley, where mildew attacked both in autumn and in spring, yield was decreased more than when only a spring attack occurred. The early attack retarded development of the root system, increased winter kill and decreased the number of ears reaching maturity. Because early mildew attack affects yield, it is not always possible to correlate yield loss with intensity of mildew at any one growth stage of the crop.     

A mutant induced in the malting barley cv Triumph with reduced dormancy and ABA response

 Induced mutants in the barley cultivar Triumph have been screened for reduced dormancy. One line, which germinated readily 2 weeks after harvest, was classified as ABA-insensitive, since it could tolerate a ten-fold increase in ABA, compared to its parent, before germination was inhibited. This mutant, designated TL43, was genotypically similar to Triumph and phenotypically similar under Scottish growing conditions, except for a slightly reduced grain size. In Spain, it showed considerable reductions in both grain yield and plant height, suggesting that it was less widely adapted than its parent. Levels of α-amylase activity were increased at both sites. The mutant appeared to be different from those with ABA insensitivity or altered dormancy previously documented in either barley or Arabidopsis. Received: 23 March 1998 / Accepted: 13 August 1998     

Arbuscular mycorrhiza increased the activity of a biotrophic leaf pathogen – is a compensation possible?

Arbuscular mycorrhizal barley-plants were more susceptible to the obligate biotrophic shoot pathogen Erysiphe graminis f. sp. hordei. In experiments under greenhouse and open-air conditions on leaves of mycorrhizal plants, the sporulation rate of the mildew fungus was more than twice that on control plants. However, mycorrhizal plants suffered less than non-mycorrhizal plants in terms of grain number, ear yield and thousand-grain weight. Disease-yield-relationship analysis showed that the symbiosis neutralised the positive correlation between disease severity and yield loss (up to 25% infected leaf area tested). After mildew infection, nitrogen in ears of non-mycorrhizal barley was higher because of an impaired starch accumulation during grain filling. In mycorrhizal plants, leaf disease did not impair either the quantity or quality of grain yield. This improved compensation in mycorrhizal plants was related to maintained photosynthetic capacity and a delay in pathogen-induced senescence. Thus filling of long-term storage pools (fructans in internodes) and consequently reallocation of these reserves during grain filling was improved. The results suggest that higher availability of energy and material during grain formation, together with longer physiological activity, were the basis of yield maintenance and, therefore, expression of mycorrhiza-induced tolerance towards the pathogen.     

Effects of barley mildew on green leaf area and grain yield in field and greenhouse experiments

In 1980 the relationships between mildew severity, green leaf area (GLA) and grain yield of spring barley were examined using greenhouse-grown plants and plants grown in micro-plots in the field. Mildew, by causing premature senescence, reduced GLA and grain yield was strongly correlated with GLA integrated from growth stages 2–10.5 on the Feekes scale. Early mildew attack reduced all yield components (including grain size) even when fungicidal control had eliminated mildew by anthesis. Analyses of culms at anthesis and harvest supported the view that the smaller grain size associated with early mildew attack resulted from a deficiency in carbohydrate stored in culms before anthesis and available for retranslocation to the developing grain. Amounts of total soluble carbohydrate at anthesis and the amounts lost beween anthesis and harvest were both strongly correlated with GLA up to anthesis.     

Mutual shading as a factor limiting the yield response of rice to application of nitrogen,phosphorus and potassium fertilizers

Summary The differences in fertilizer responses between rice plants grown under pot and field conditions were discussed.Under pot conditions, the rice plant responded more strongly to nitrogen applications at high phosphorus and high potassium levels than at low levels of these elements. This suggests that the balance of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium is an important factor in fertilizer application.Under field population conditions, however, mutual shading among plants limits grain yield. A big leaf area above a certain limit is associated with decreased grain yield. The response to nitrogen may be negative, and may not be changed even with the application of potassium and phosphorus.     

Effect of Nitrogen and Powdery Mildew on the Yield Formation of Two Winter Barley Cultivars1

In field experiments the effect of powdery mildew on the yield formation of two barley cultivars ‘Catinka’ (partially resistant) and ‘Tapir’ (susceptible) was investigated in relation to three levels of nitrogen fertilization (40, 90, 150 kg N/ha). Nitrogen increased especially the single ear yield of cv.‘Catinka’, whereas cv.‘Tapir’ showed symptoms of N oversupply. Infection density of Erysiphe graminis hordei also increased with increased nitrogen supply, although it decreased transiently, at the highest N level for cv.‘Tapir’. In general, cv.‘Catinka’ was less tolerant to infections with E. graminis than cv.‘Tapir’, but yield response of both cultivars to powdery mildew (17, 11 and 8 % and 12, 16, and 12 % yield losses for cv.,‘Catinka’ and ‘Tapir’. respectively) showed cultivar × nitrogen interrelationships. Starch and protein contents of grains indicated differences in the intensity of detrimental effects caused by powdery mildew limiting the formation of carbohydrates and/or the translocation processes. Regression analysis demonstrated a closer correlation of yield losses with the photosynthetically active leaf area (r =+0.96 and +0.93 for ‘Catinka’ and ‘Tapir’) than with disease intensity (r =−0.32 and −0.85). Theinte,rpretation of disease/yield loss relations and the detrimental effect of powdery mildew are discussed with reference to plant resistance, remaining green leaf area, the availability of nutrients, to ‘sink and source’ conditions and to the occurrence of,additional environmental stresses.     

氮肥运筹对小麦产量、氮素利用效率和光能利用率的影响

连续2年在西南冬麦区的重庆、仁寿、广汉、西昌4个地点,开展3种施氮水平(每公顷纯氮0、120、180 kg,简写为N₀、N₁₂₀、N₁₈₀)和3种氮肥分配模式(N_A:底肥100%;N_B:底肥70%+苗肥30%;N_C:底肥60%+拔节肥40%)的田间试验,监测小麦花后冠层叶片SPAD值、群体光合速率(CAP)、光能利用等生理参数和籽粒产量,计算氮素利用效率、光能利用率等.结果表明: 随施氮水平增加,小麦上三叶SPAD值、CAP、光合有效辐射(PAR)截获率和产量均呈增加趋势,而氮肥农学利用效率、生产效率、吸收效率和利用效率呈降低趋势.氮肥后移的增效作用因施氮水平而异,SPAD于N₁₈₀增效明显,而CAP于N₁₂₀增效明显,不同氮肥管理模式的光能利用率因地点而异.氮肥后移能明显提高小麦氮肥农学效率、生产效率、吸收效率和氮素表观回收率,但氮肥利用效率则略有减少.氮肥后移效果N_C总体优于N_B处理.不同地点比较,广汉的SPAD值、CAP、PAR截获率、氮肥利用参数较高,其产量也相应最高;西昌的产量、SPAD值及氮素利用效率较高,但其光能利用率和CAP较低;重庆和仁寿的SPAD值、光能利用率及氮素利用效率均较低,其产量也最低.小麦生物产量与各地点的籽粒产量、CAP、SPAD值和PAR累积截获量均呈显著或极显著的正相关关系.表明不同生态区域增施氮肥都能促进小麦增产,氮肥后移可进一步优化产量结构、改善氮肥和光能利用效率,但存在年份和地点差异,各地需要制定有针对性的氮肥管理模式.     

Genomic regions associated with the nitrogen limitation response revealed in a global wheat core collection

Modern wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties in Western Europe have mainly been bred, and selected in conditions where high levels of nitrogen-rich fertilizer are applied. However, high input crop management has greatly increased the risk of nitrates leaching into groundwater with negative impacts on the environment. To investigate wheat nitrogen tolerance characteristics that could be adapted to low input crop management, we supplied 196 accessions of a wheat core collection of old and modern cultivars with high or moderate amounts of nitrogen fertilizer in an experimental network consisting of three sites and 2 years. The main breeding traits were assessed including grain yield and grain protein content. The response to nitrogen level was estimated for grain yield and grain number per m² using both the difference and the ratio between performance at the two input levels and the slope of joint regression. A large variability was observed for all the traits studied and the response to nitrogen level. Whole genome association mapping was carried out using 899 molecular markers taking into account the five ancestral group structure of the collection. We identified 54 main regions involving almost all chromosomes that influence yield and its components, plant height, heading date and grain protein concentration. Twenty-three regions, including several genes, spread over 16 chromosomes were involved in the response to nitrogen level. These chromosomal regions may be good candidates to be used in breeding programs to improve the performance of wheat varieties at moderate nitrogen input levels.     

Mitochondrial Efficiency and Grain Yield in Wheat

Mitochondrial ADP/O and RC ratios have been determined in two-day-oldshoots of nine wheat (Triticum aestivum) varieties of knownaverage grain yield. Both ratios were highly correlated withaverage grain yield. ADP/O and RC ratios of germinating shootswere also correlated with yield within a variety when yieldwas varied by irrigation and different nitrogen fertilizer treatments.It is proposed that the observed correlations are the resultof mitochondrial ADP/O and RC ratios being partly controlledduring germination directly or indirectly by seed-based metabolismwhich reflects the metabolic activity and total carbohydratedeposited in seed during seed formation.     

氮高效利用基因型大麦的物质生产与氮素积累特性

通过土培盆栽试验,研究了22份大麦材料在低氮(125 mg·kg^-1)和正常氮(250 mg·kg^-1)处理下氮素吸收利用效率的基因型差异,探讨氮高效大麦干物质生产与氮素积累特性.结果表明： 大麦氮素吸收利用效率基因型差异显著.低氮处理下籽粒产量、氮素籽粒生产效率及氮素收获指数的最高值分别是最低值的2.87、2.92、2.47倍;氮高效基因型大麦籽粒产量、氮素籽粒生产效率和氮素收获指数均显著大于低效基因型,低氮处理下高效基因型3个参数较低效基因型分别高82.1%、61.5%和50.5%.氮高效基因型大麦各生育期干物质和氮素积累优势明显,干物质积累高峰出现在拔节-抽穗阶段,氮素积累高峰出现在拔节前;低氮处理下高效基因型典型材料DH61、DH121+的干物质量较低效基因型典型材料DH80分别高34.4%、38.3%,氮素积累量较DH80分别高54.8%、58.0%.供试大麦干物质和氮素的阶段性积累量对籽粒产量的影响为拔节前最大,且低氮处理下贡献率最高,分别为47.9%和54.7%;而干物质和氮素的阶段性积累量对氮素籽粒生产效率的影响在抽穗 成熟阶段最大,其次是播种-拔节阶段,低氮处理下这两个阶段的贡献率分别为29.5%、48.7%和29.0%、15.8%.氮高效基因型大麦在各生育期的物质生产和氮素积累能力强,低氮处理下优势较为明显,能够提高拔节前干物质生产和氮素积累能力,并协同提高大麦产量和氮素利用效率.     

Barley response to nitrogen and non-nutritional benefits of legume green manure

Green manure application may benefit subsequent crops not only by improving nitrogen (N) fertility but also via non-nutritional mechanisms. The quantification of the latter effect, however, is complicated by the confounding effect of N fertility. Two experiments were conducted in controlled environments to partition the yield response of barley to green manure between N and non-nutritional effects. Each experiment included a factorial of fertilizer N application rates and green manure application rates. The fertilizer was labelled with ¹⁵N to facilitate discrimination between N sources. Approximately 24% of the N applied in green manure was assimilated by barley after 45 days (Experiment 1) and 32% was recovered by barley grown to maturity (Experiment 2). Apparent recovery of green manure-N by barley was not appreciably affected by fertilizer application. Regression analysis of the relationship between dry matter yield and plant N uptake demonstrated that yield responses to green manure application were not entirely attributable to improved N fertility. For a given amount of N assimilated by the crop, yields were higher in green manure-amended treatments than in those receiving no green manure. In barley grown to maturity, barley response to N and non-nutritional effects were estimated to be 5.3 and 2.2g pot⁻¹, respectively. The relationship between dry matter yield and N uptake is suggested as a method for distinguishing nutritional and non-nutritional yield responses. This approach assumes that no other nutrient is limiting growth. The presence of non-nutritional benefits observed in this study demonstrates that the agronomic value of green manure is not limited to N release and casts doubt on the assumptions inherent to calculation of fertilizer equivalents. Contribution 3879132 Contribution 3879132     

Influence of Chlorocholine Chloride on Grain Growth of Winter Barley (Hordeum distichon L. cv. Igri) in the Field

Green, C. F., Dawkins, T. C. K. and McDonald, H. G. 1985. Influenceof chlorocholine chloride on grain growth of winter barley (Hordeumdistichon L. cv. Igri) in the field.–J. exp. Bot. 36:1126–1133. Chlorocholine chloride was applied to winter barley either inthe Spring or Autumn. It increased grain number per unit croparea. Rates of incorporation of dry matter into the grain weredecreased, but the period of growth was extended by the treatments.Overall the final mean grain weight was reduced so that no advantagesin terms of yield resulted from the increased grain numbers. Key words: —Chlormequat, chlorocholine chloride, CCC, Hordeum distichon L., barley, grain growth, grain weight, senescence, grain yield     

Effects of fungicides and insecticides applied to spring barley sown on different dates in 1976-79

Factorial experiments in 1976–1979 investigated the effects of sowing date, fungicides (ethirimol seed treatments and tridemorph sprays) and insecticides (phorate applied to the soil, and menazon or dimethoate sprays) on powdery mildew, aphids, barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) and grain yield of spring barley (cv. Julia in 1976 and 1977; cv. Wing in 1978 and 1979). Late sowing usually increased the severity of powdery mildew, numbers of aphids and incidence of BYDV and generally decreased yield. Responses to pesticides were commonly greater on the late-sown than on the early-sown barley. Response to fungicides are principally attributed to the control of powdery mildew (Erysiphe graminis f. sp. hordei; the target species) but responses to insecticides cannot be attributed to virus control and seem unlikely to be due solely to control of aphids, whose numbers were relatively small. There were some effects of fungicides on aphids and insecticides on mildew, but they were inconsistent and too small to affect crop protection strategies.     

Dormancy of the barley grain is correlated with gibberellic Acid responsiveness of the isolated aleurone layer

The relationship between barley grain dormancy and gibberellic acid (GA₃) responsiveness of aleurone layers has been investigated. Barley (Hordeum distichum L. cvs Triumph and Kristina) grains were matured under defined conditions in a phytotron. Grains of Triumph plants grown under long-day/warm conditions had lower dormancy levels than grains of plants grown under short-day/cool conditions. Aleurone layers isolated from grains of long-day Triumph plants secreted more α-amylase and had a higher responsiveness to GA₃ as measured by α-amylase secretion. Storage of the grains increased both the percentage of germination and the responsiveness of the aleurone to GA₃. Use of different sterilization methods to break dormancy confirmed the correlation between germination percentage and aleurone layer GA₃ responsiveness. The response of embryoless Triumph grains to GA₃ was lower than that of the isolated aleurone layers, suggesting a role of the starchy endosperm in regulating the GA₃ response of the aleurone layer. Grains of the cultivar Kristina harvested from short day- and long day-grown plants lacked dormancy, and their isolated aleurone layers had a similar responsiveness to GA₃ as measured by α-amylase secretion. The data indicate that the physiological state of the aleurone layers contributes to the percentage germination of the grains.     

THE EFFECT OF DATE OF SOWING ON THE INCIDENCE OF POWDERY MILDEW ON SPRING-SOWN CEREALS

Delaying the date of sowing of spring-sown barley in 1953 and wheat in 1954 from February to April increased the incidence of powdery mildew, Erysiphe graminis DC., from May onwards. Before then, conditions did not favour the rapid spread of mildew.
From mid-June, infected barley produced necrotic lesions. These developed sooner on the early- than on the late-sown crops, and on the lower than upper leaves. Perithecia were first seen on 29 June. They were abundant on the wheat by 20 July.
Mildew reduced the yield of barley sown on 30 March and 28 April 1955 by 8 cwt./acre. The percentage loss was greater in the late- than in the early-sown crops. The number of ears per metre of row, the weight of 100 ears and the 1000-grain weights were reduced. Altering the seed rate from 1 ½ to 2½ bushels/acre did not affect the incidence, or the effect, of mildew on grain yield.     

Effects of powdery mildew on grain filling in spring barley in contrasting environments

Circumstantial evidence from field experiments at Rothamsted suggested that effects of powdery mildew on grain filling in spring barley may be determined partly by temperature during the grain-filling period. An experiment was, therefore, done which compared the effects of fungicides applied to control powdery mildew on grain filling in early- and late-sown spring barley plants kept either out-of-doors throughout their growth (‘cool’ environment) or under the same conditions until the start of grain filling and then transferred to a heated glasshouse (‘warm’ environment) until harvested. Fungicides that controlled mildew increased the total grain yield of the late-sown barley more than that of the early-sown and much more in the warm environment than in the cool. On average, the effect of the fungicides in the cool environment was to increase grain yield by 17·7%. Small increases in numbers of grains/ear (+ 3·4%) and thousand-grain weight (TGW) (+ 2·3%) contributed to this increase but it could be attributed principally to an average increase in numbers of ears/plant of 12·4%. Contrastingly, fungicides increased average grain yield in the warm environment by 58·2%. Effects of the fungicides on numbers of ears/plant (+ 27·8%) and on numbers of grains/ear (+ 4·5%) were not significantly different to those in the cool environment, and the much greater responses in the warm than in the cool environment could be attributed mostly to much larger effects on grain size (+ 19·2%) The greater benefits of the fungicides and, by implication, the greater damage done by powdery mildew in the warm than in the cool environment cannot, unequivocally, be attributed to differences in temperature during grain-filling because the two environments clearly differed in other ways and especially in light intensity. Nevertheless, the results obtained do illustrate the potential risks involved in using data obtained under one set of circumstances to predict what will happen in another, especially when environments differ as greatly as glasshouses and fields.     

Effects of Induced Resistance on Disease Severity/Yield Relations in Mildewed Barley

Field experiments showed that the treatment of winter barley with microbial metabolites produced by a Bacillus subtilis strain led to increased yields in spite of a remaining mildew infection. Disease severity/yield relations obtained on a single tiller basis for either mildew infection at EC 75 or area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) were negatively correlated for untreated plants (R²= 89%, 94%) while this relation did not exist for inducer-treated ones (R²= 10%, 13%). Despite an increasing infection density. yields of main tillers of inducertreated plants were not decreased. On the other hand area under green leaf area curve (AUGLAC) showed a higher correlation with grain yield (R²= 89%) of inducer-treated plants. Possible explanations for the mitigated damaging effect of powdery mildew were expected in carbohydrate metabolism. especially carbohydrate formation and translocation. Assimilation rates of flag leaves of inducer-treated barley with similar infection densities to those of untreated plants were increased over a prolonged period and even exceeded those of non infected ones. In inducer-treated plants the export of ¹⁴CO₂ from flag leaves into ears remained unimpaired by mildew infection and the allocation of assimilates to grains was highest at late stages of grain filling. Obviously plants were stimulated by inducer treatments to compensate for the damaging effect of powdery mildew and to tolerate mildew infection without yield loss.