Apoplastic infusion of sucrose into stem internodes during female flowering does not increase grain yield in maize plants grown under nitrogen‐limiting conditions |
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Authors: | Yunfeng Peng Chunjian Li Felix B. Fritschi |
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Affiliation: | 1. The Key Laboratory of Plant‐Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, Center for Resources, Environment and Food Security, China Agricultural University, , Beijing, 100193 China;2. Division of Plant Sciences 1‐31 Agriculture Building, University of Missouri, , Columbia, MO, 65211 USA |
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Abstract: | Nitrogen (N) limitation reduces leaf growth and photosynthetic rates of maize (Zea mays), and constrains photosynthate translocation to developing ears. Additionally, the period from about 1 week before to 2 weeks after silking is critical for establishing the reproductive sink capacity necessary to attain maximum yield. To investigate the influence of carbohydrate availability in plants of differing N status, a greenhouse study was performed in which exogenous sucrose (Suc) was infused around the time of silking into maize stems grown under different N regimes. N deficiency significantly reduced leaf area, leaf longevity, leaf chlorophyll content and photosynthetic rate. High N‐delayed leaf senescence, particularly of the six uppermost leaves, compared to the other two N treatments. While N application increased ear leaf soluble protein concentration, it did not influence glucose and suc concentrations. Interestingly, ear leaf starch concentration decreased with increasing N application. Infusion of exogenous suc tended to increase non‐structural carbohydrate concentrations in the developing ears of all N treatments at silking and 6 days after silking. However, leaf photosynthetic rates were not affected by suc infusion, and suc infusion failed to increase grain yield in any N treatment. The lack of an effect of suc infusion on ear growth and the high ear leaf starch concentration of N‐deficient maize, suggest that yield reduction under N deficiency may not be due to insufficient photosynthate availability to the developing ear during silking, and that yield reduction under N deficiency may be determined at an earlier growth stage. |
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