Jinfeng Ding

Effect of nitrogen levels and nitrogen ratios on lodging resistance and yield potential of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Lodging is one of the constraints that limit wheat yields and quality due to the unexpected bending or breaking stems on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production worldwide. In addition to choosing lodging resistance varieties, husbandry practices also have a significant effect on lodging. Nitrogen management is one of the most common and efficient methods. A field experiment with Yangmai 20 as research material (a widely-used variety) was conducted to study the effects of different nitrogen levels and ratios on culm morphological, anatomical characters and chemical components and to explore the nitrogen application techniques for lodging tolerance and high yield. Results showed that some index of basal internodes, such as stem wall thickness, filling degree, lignin content, cellulose content, water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) and WSC/N ratio, were positively and significantly correlated with culm lodging-resistant index (CLRI). As the increase of nitrogen level and basal nitrogen ratio, the basal internodes became slender and fragile with the thick stem wall, while filling degree, chemical components and the strength of the stem decreased gradually, which significantly increased the lodging risk. The response of grain yield to nitrogen doses was quadratic and grain yield reached the highest at the nitrogen ratio of 50%:10%:20%:20% (the ratio of nitrogen amount applied before sowing, at tillering stage, jointing stage and booting stage respectively, abbreviated as 5:1:2:2). These results suggested that for Yangmai 20, the planting density of 180×104ha-1, nitrogen level of 225 kg ha-1, and the ratio of 5: 1: 2: 2 effectively increased lodging resistance and grain yield. This combination of planting density and nitrogen level and ratio could effectively relieve the contradiction between high-yielding and anti-lodging.

Grain Yield, Starch Content and Activities of Key Enzymes of Waxy and Non-waxy Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Waxy wheat has unique end-use properties; however, its production is limited due mainly to its low grain yield compared with non-waxy wheat. In order to increase its grain yield, it is critical to understand the eco-physiological differences in grain filling between the waxy and non-waxy wheat. In this study, two waxy wheat and two non-waxy wheat cultivars were used to investigate the differences in starch-associated enzymes processes, sucrose and starch dynamics, yield components, and the final grain yield. The results indicated that the mean total grain starch and amylose content, the average 1000-kernel weight and grain yield of the waxy wheat were lower than those of the non-waxy wheat at maturity. The amylose content was significantly and positively correlated with the activity of GBSS (r = 0.80, p < 0.01). Significant positive correlation also exists among activities of AGPase, SSS, GBSS, and SBE, except for GBSS-SBE. In summary, our study has revealed that the reduced conversion of sucrose to starch in the late grain filling stage is the main cause for the low kernel weight and total starch accumulation of the waxy wheat. The reduced conversion also appears to be a factor contributing to the lower grain yield of the waxy wheat.

Evaluation of Seed Emergence Uniformity of Mechanically Sown Wheat with UAV RGB Imagery

The uniformity of wheat seed emergence is an important characteristic used to evaluate cultivars, cultivation mode and field management. Currently, researchers typically investigated the uniformity of seed emergence by manual measurement, a time-consuming and laborious process. This study employed field RGB images from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to obtain information related to the uniformity of wheat seed emergence and missing seedlings. The calculation of the length of areas with missing seedlings in both drill and broadcast sowing can be achieved by using an area localization algorithm, which facilitated the comprehensive evaluation of uniformity of seed emergence. Through a comparison between UAV images and the results of manual surveys used to gather data on the uniformity of seed emergence, the root-mean-square error (RMSE) was 0.44 for broadcast sowing and 0.64 for drill sowing. The RMSEs of the numbers of missing seedling regions for broadcast and drill sowing were 1.39 and 3.99, respectively. The RMSEs of the lengths of the missing seedling regions were 12.39 cm for drill sowing and 0.20 cm2 for broadcast sowing. The UAV image-based method provided a new and greatly improved method for efficiently measuring the uniformity of wheat seed emergence. The proposed method could provide a guideline for the intelligent evaluation of the uniformity of wheat seed emergence.

ENHANCING NITROGEN USE EFFICIENCY BY COMBINATIONS OF NITROGEN APPLICATION AMOUNT AND TIME IN WHEAT

Nitrogen (N) is one of the most important impact factors on development and growth of wheat. In this study the effects of nitrogen use efficiency on quantity and quality of grains were studied by agronomic management of N fertilizers on spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown under field conditions for two years. The experiments were performed at 16 combinations of N application amount and time, including four levels of N at 0, 60, 120 and 180 kg N ha−1 that were used as pre-plant fertilizers, sub-treated with four levels of the same N amount used as top-dress fertilizers. As a result, with an increase in total N fertilizers, grain yield increased in a cubic equitation, but partial factor productivity (PFPN, kg grain yield per kg N applied) decreased exponentially. With total fertilizers, N content and accumulation in vegetative tissues and grains increased linearly, but N uptake efficiency (UtEN, kg nutrient taken up per kg N applied) decreased exponentially. When N was over-applied (>360 kg N ha−1 in this study), grain yield clearly declined, due to decrease in productivity from per unit N. The high N level (240∼300 kg N ha−1), the reasonable distribution between pre-plant and top dress from the same amount N fertilizer not only increased grain yield but also enhanced N use efficiency.

Author Correction: Grain Yield, Starch Content and Activities of Key Enzymes of Waxy and Non-waxy Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML version of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper.

Does cyclic water stress damage wheat yield more than a single stress

The occurrence of water stress during wheat growth is more frequent due to climate change. Three experiments (cyclic drought, cyclic waterlogging, and cyclic drought plus waterlogging) were conducted to investigate the effects of mild and severe cyclic/single water stress at elongation and heading stages on winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield. The effect of either mild drought at elongation or mild waterlogging at heading on wheat yield was not significant; however, significance did occur under other single water stresses. As the stress becomes more severe, the yield loss significantly increases. Extreme drought/waterlogging treatment at elongation caused a greater yield penalty than stress at heading stage. Except the combination of mild drought and mild waterlogging treatment, cyclic water stress significantly decreased wheat yields. The decrease in wheat yield under cyclic severe drought and waterlogging was significantly higher than any other treatment, with percentage decreases of 71.52 and 73.51%, respectively. In general, a yield reduction from mild cyclic water stress did not indicate more severe damage than single treatments; in contrast, grain yield suffered more when water stress occurred again after severe drought and waterlogging. Drought during elongation significantly decreased kernel number, whereas drought at heading/waterlogging during elongation and heading decreased the spike weight, which might be the main reason for the yield penalty. Furthermore, water stress caused variation in the decrease of total biomass and/or harvest index. The present study indicates comprehensive understanding of the types, degree, and stages of water stress are essential for assessing the impact of multiple water stresses on wheat yield.

Estimating the responses of winter wheat yields to moisture variations in the past 35 years in Jiangsu Province of China

Jiangsu is an important agricultural province in China. Winter wheat, as the second major grain crop in the province, is greatly affected by moisture variations. The objective of this study was to investigate whether there were significant trends in changes in the moisture conditions during wheat growing seasons over the past decades and how the wheat yields responded to different moisture levels by means of a popular drought index, the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). The study started with a trend analysis and quantification of the moisture conditions with the Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s Slope method, respectively. Then, correlation analysis was carried out to determine the relationship between de-trended wheat yields and multi-scalar SPEI. Finally, a multivariate panel regression model was established to reveal the quantitative yield responses to moisture variations. The results showed that the moisture conditions in Jiangsu were generally at a normal level, but this century appeared slightly drier in because of the relatively high temperatures. There was a significant correlation between short time scale SPEI values and wheat yields. Among the three critical stages of wheat development, the SPEI values in the late growth stage (April-June) had a closer linkage to the yields than in the seedling stage (October-November) and the over-wintering stage (December-February). Moreover, the yield responses displayed an asymmetric characteristic, namely, moisture excess led to higher yield losses compared to moisture deficit in this region. The maximum yield increment could be obtained under the moisture level of slight drought according to the 3-month SPEI at the late growth stage, while extreme wetting resulted in the most severe yield losses. The moisture conditions in the first 15 years of the 21st century were more favorable than in the last 20 years of the 20th century for wheat production in Jiangsu.

Characterization of the 3D structure of a cultivated land surface and its influence on wheat seedlings growth using Kinect

The quality of wheat emergence has a significant impact on the subsequent growth and development of seedlings. The structure of cultivated land surfaces is an important factor influencing wheat seedlings growth. However, few studies have investigated this. In this study, three-dimensional structural parameters of cultivated land surfaces were collected using 3D imaging equipment, and the effects of different grades of lands on the emergence and growth of wheat were evaluated. The evaluation criteria for the soil blocks was designed according to the ISO-25178-2 standard, and the wheat emergence rate, speed, tillering capacity per plant, dry weight per plant, and final yields of different grades of cultivated land were investigated. The results indicated that the three-dimensional information obtained through the Kinect sensors was reliable. The deviation of measured values from the factual values was trivial. The value of R2 was greater than 0.99**. The value of RMSE was less than 2 mm. These results describe a method for obtaining three-dimensional structures of land surfaces using 3D cameras and the evaluation of wheat emergence capacity. It can be used as a reference for obtaining three-dimensional cultivated land structures or other similar objects.