Makie Kokubun

Growth and Yield of New Rice for Africa (NERICAs) under Different Ecosystems and Nitrogen Levels

Abstract Scarcity of water and N fertilizer are major constraints to rice production, particularly in developing countries where rainfed upland condition dominates. Improvement of genetic adaptability to inadequate water and N fertilizer is one option to maintain productivity in these regions. NERICAs are expected to yield higher under low input conditions, but growth and yield responses of the cultivars to different ecosystems and N levels remain unknown. The objectives of this study were to characterize the growth and yield performance of NERICAs, in comparison with selected Japanese rice cultivars. The two NERICAs (NERICA 1 and NERICA 5), two Japanese upland cultivars (Toyohatamochi and Yumenohatamochi), and a Japanese lowland cultivar Hitomebore were grown under two ecosystems (irrigated lowland (IL) and rainfed upland (RU)) with two N levels (high (H) and low (L)) for two years. The cultivar difference in the aboveground dry weight and grain yield was the largest in the in RU × L plot, where the values of NERICAs were similar to those in the other plots, but the values of other cultivars were substantially reduced. Regardless of cultivar, N contents of the plants at maturity correlated significantly with the aboveground dry weight at maturity, spikelet number and grain yield per area. These results indicate that NERICAs, compared with the selected Japanese upland cultivars that were bred for drought tolerance, have a higher ability to absorb N under upland conditions, which may contribute to higher biomass production and sink formation, resulting in increased gain yield.

Characteristics of Growth and Yield Formation in the Improved Genotype of Supernodulating Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.)

Abstract Most of the supernodulating soybean lines were agronomically inferior to conventional genotypes. Our previous tests with ‘En6500’, a supernodulating mutant derived from a variety ‘Enrei’, revealed that its low growth and yield were not necessarily due to supernodulation. In our attempts to improve the yield of En6500 through crossing with Enrei, we recently succeeded in selecting a supernodulating line showing vigorous growth. Field experiments with this new supernodulating line ‘En-bO-1-2’ for three years revealed that it yielded much more than En6500. When the overall yield level was low, it even tended to yield more than Enrei. En-bO-1-2 thus showed a remarkably higher productivity than other supernodulating lines reported so far. Its improved yield was largely due to : (a) better seed filling, (b) vigorous vegetative growth during flowering period, and (c) high leaf area index and leaf N content that enabled production of more photosynthates to enhance N fixation and dry matter accumulation during the period of pod and seed development.

Historical Changes in Grain Yield and Photosynthetic Rate of Rice Cultivars Released in the 20th Century in Tohoku Region

Abstract A retrospective analysis of the physiological basis of genetic yield improvement should provide us a direction for future yield improvement. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the change in yield in leading rice cultivars that were bred and grown in the Tohoku region in the 20th century, and to find whether apparent photosynthetic rate (AP) is associated with the yield improvement. Ten leading rice cultivars were grown at low- and high-nitrogen conditions, Low-N and High-N, respectively, and three environmental conditions (two years in Sendai and one year in Kashimadai). Yields were higher under High-N than under Low-N in all the cultivars tested, and yield increase was greater in the newly bred cultivars released after 1960s (new cultivars) than in those released before 1960 (old cultivars). The genotypic improvement in yield under High-N was progressive year by year in the old cultivars whereas it was stagnated in the new cultivars. The cultivar difference in AP of the flag leaf one week after heading was small, but that three weeks after heading was larger in new cultivars than in old cultivars except for a few cultivars. A dependence of AP on leaf nitrogen concentration three weeks after heading was evident in the plants grown under High-N. The number of spikelets increased under High-N in all ten cultivars, where the percentage of ripened grains was lower in the old cultivars than in the new cultivars. These results suggest that yield improvement of rice cultivars in the 20th century in the Tohoku region has been accompanied by a greater AP during the ripening stage that might lead to a greater grain filling percentage.

Intra-raceme variation in pod-set probability is associated with cytokinin content in soybeans

Summary A large proportion of flowers abscise during development in soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.). A reduction in this abscission might increase pod and seed number, and thereby can lead to an increased yield. Previous studies showed that pod-set probability was greater at proximal positions of individual racemes, and that the probability was enhanced by the exogenously applied cytokinins. However, whether intra-raceme variation in the pod-set probability relates to endogenous cytokinin levels remains unknown. To address this question, intra-raceme variation in cytokinin content and pod-set probability was investigated. A soybean genotype 1X93-100, which has long racemes, was grown in an environmentally controlled chamber (30/20°C day/night temperature, 15 h day length, 600 μmol m–2s–1 photosynthetic photon flux density). Flowers, which were divided into three floral positions (proximal, middle, distal) on individual racemes, were sampled at intervals after anthesis. The cytokinins in the samples were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and further quantified by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). The GG-MS analysis revealed that cis-zeatin riboside (c-ZR) and isopentenyl-adenosine (iPA) were predominant forms of cytokinin in soybean racemes. The total amount of these cytokinins in racemes, which was monitored by EIA, peaked one to two weeks after the first flowering on a raceme, when pod development was initiated. Within individual racemes, the total cytokinin concentrations were greater at more proximal floral positions, as was the probability of pod set. Removal of proximal flowers at anthesis enhanced both cytokinin concentrations and pod set at middle positions on the raceme. Thus, pod-set probability was significantly associated with the cytokinin concentration at different floral positions within individual soybean racemes.

Characterization of Vegetative Growth of a Supernodulating Soybean Genotype, Sakukei 4

Article The supernodulating soybean cultivar Sakukei 4 was previously characterized by its superior ability to maintain a high leaf nitrogen (N) content and high photosynthetic rate. Despite these desirable traits, the growth performance of Sakukei 4 was inferior to that of its normally nodulating parental cultivar, Enrei. The physiological basis for the unique growth characteristics of Sakukei 4 remains unclear. The objective of the present study was to characterize in further detail thevegetative growth of Sakukei 4, particularly during the period before pod expansion. In the first experiment, the growth of Sakukei 4 was compared with that of its parental cultivar Enrei under various rates of N fertilizer. The dry weight of tops, roots and nodules of the plants grown at lower rates of N application was greater in Enrei than in Sakukei 4, but it was vice versa at higher rates of N application. The number and weight of nodules were far greater in Sakukei 4 than in Enrei at any rate of N application. These genotypic differences were significant on 39 days after sowing (DAS) and became greater at the flowering stage. In the second experiment, therefore, more detailed growth analysis was made during an earlier growth stage (DAS 31-46). During this period, relative growth rate (RGR), net assimilation rate (NAR) and leaf area ratio (LAR) were lower in Sakukei 4 than in Enrei and the related non-nodulating line En1282, whereas the leaf photosynthetic rate was higher in Sakukei 4 at all leaf positions. The dry-matter partitioning to each plant part excluding nodules was similar in all three genotypes. The rate of leaf expansion in Sakukei 4 during this period was significantly slower than that in the other genotypes. These results suggest that the inferior growth of Sakukei 4 prior to flowering is probably due to excessive dry-matter partitioning to nodules and depressed capability of leaf expansion and root growth, which might limit dry-matter production of the whole plant during pre-flowering stage.

Effects of Source/Sink Ratio and Cytokinin Application on Pod Set in Soybean

Abstract A large proportion of soybean flowers abort during development. Pod set is significantly affected by the availability of assimilate and cytokinin in the flowers, but their synergistic effects on pod set remain unclear. The objective of this study was to examine whether pod set at specific nodes of a plant is enhanced by increasing the source-sink ratio and applying cytokinin to the nodes. The source-sink ratio was manipulated by removing floral buds excluding the specific nodes. As the ratio increased, the number of pods per node of control plants increased curvilinearly, reaching a plateau at high source/sink ratios. By contrast, in the cytokinin-applied plants, the number of pods per node increased without the plateau with increasing source/sink ratio, either by increasing the number of flowers or by increasing the pod-set percentage depending on the year. The results indicated that cytokinin plays a promotive role in increasing pod number in the plants with high levels of assimilate availability.

The Role of Seed Structure and Oxygen Responsiveness in Pre-Germination Flooding Tolerance of Soybean Cultivars

Abstract Flooding during germination often inhibits the germination and emergence of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], but little is known about the mechanisms involved in the tolerance of soybean cultivars to the damage caused by the flooding. The objectives of this study were to characterize the germination responses of soybean cultivars to pre-germination flooding and low oxygen conditions, and to identify possible seed traits responsible for the tolerance. A comparison of germination percentages among 18 cultivars under optimal and flooding conditions for 3 d enabled the identification of two tolerant cultivars (Williams and Peking), and two susceptible cultivars (Nakasennari and Enrei), which were used for further analyses. A comparison of the water absorption speed (WAS) in the following seed forms: embryo only (E), embryo with aleurone layer (E + AL), and intact seed with aleurone layer and seed coat (E + AL + SC) revealed that the aleurone layer provides a barrier to water penetration during the first hour of inundation regardless of cultivar. The intact seeds of a tolerant cultivar, Peking absorbed water more slowly than the other cultivars in the first hour of flooding. When the oxygen concentration in the seed container was reduced to 70 mL L-1 for 3 d, the germination percentage of susceptible cultivars was reduced to approximately 70 % whereas that of tolerant cultivars remained high, indicating that responsiveness to low oxygen could also be responsible for pre-germination flooding tolerance of soybean cultivars.

Roles of auxin and cytokinin in soybean pod setting.

Abstract Soybean plants differentiate abundant floral buds, but most of them fail to grow pods and abort during development. Many studies indicated promotive effects of exogenously applied cytokinin on pod setting, but the effects of auxin application on pod set are ambiguous. In this study, we examined the changes in the concentrations of endogenous auxin and cytokinin in racemes and the effects of application of the two hormones on pod setting to clarify the role of auxin and cytokinin in soybean pod setting. The long-raceme soybean genotype IX93-100 was grown in pots and in the field. The auxin (IAA, indoleacetic acid) concentration in racemes was high for a long period from pre-anthesis to 9 days after anthesis (DAA) of the first flower on a raceme, but the cytokinin concentration was high for a short period, with a peak at 9 DAA. The IAA concentration was higher in distal portions of racemes, but the cytokinin concentration was higher in basal portions of racemes. In pot-grown plants, IAA applied to racemes tended to reduce the number of flowers and pods. In contrast, 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) applied to racemes before anthesis tended to reduce the number of flowers and pods, and that applied around 7 DAA significantly increased the pod-set percentage. However, these effects of IAA and BA application were slight in field-grown plants. These results indicate that the concentration of endogenous auxin and cytokinin in racemes changes in a different manner, and that cytokinins have a positive, and auxin a negative effect on pod setting when respective hormones are applied to racemes after the anthesis stage.

Responses of a Supernodulating Soybean Genotype, Sakukei 4 to Nitrogen Fertilizer

Abstract The supernodulating soybean genotype Sakukei 4 is potentially high-yielding. We characterized its leaf nitrogen (N) content, photosynthesis and growth at different developmental stages and under different dosages and types of N fertilizer, and compared it with its parental cultivar Enrei and the non-nodulating line En 1282. At the pod -expansion and seed-filling stages, the N contents per leaf dry weight and per leaf area, and apparent photosynthetic rates (AP) were higher in Sakukei 4 than in the normal and the non-nodulating genotypes. The nodule activity per plant was also higher in Sakukei 4 than in Enrei during the reproductive stage. These traits varied less with the growing condition (field- or pot-grown) and dose or type of N fertilizer applied in Sakukei 4 than in the other genotypes. The superior ability of Sakukei 4 to maintain high leaf N and AP, however, did not enhance its growth performance, which tended to be inferior to that of Enrei. Further studies are needed to define the cultivation conditions optimal for an exploitation of the favorable traits of Sakukei 4.

Genotypic Variation in Biomass Production at the Early Vegetative Stage among Rice Cultivars Subjected to Deficient Soil Moisture Regimes and Its Association with Water Uptake Capacity

References Genetic improvement in water uptake ability and/or water use efficiency (WUE) of rice cultivars is one option to enhance productivity under water-limited conditions. We examined the genotypic variation in biomass production among 70 rice cultivars (69 cultivars of NIAS global rice core collection and Azucena) under different soil moisture conditions, and to identify whether water uptake ability or WUE is responsible for the variation, if any. Two-week-old seedlings were transplanted into pots and grown for three weeks in an environmentally-regulated growth chamber under three soil moisture regimes: flooded (−0.02 MPa soil water potential) and two unflooded (−0.10 and −0.52 MPa) conditions. Substantial genotypic variations in total dry weight (TDW) were observed under all three regimes. Among all the cultivars tested, TDW was significantly correlated with water uptake ability, but not with WUE. However, several cultivars exhibited comparably higher WUE while showing superior biomass production under the −0.52 MPa regime. The amount of water uptake was significantly correlated with root dry weight among cultivars regardless of moisture regimes, while substantial genotypic difference in the amount of water uptake per unit root dry weight was observed. These results indicate that a marked genotypic difference exists in biomass production at the early vegetative growth under water-deficient conditions, and that this difference appears to be ascribed primarily to greater water uptake capacity, and additionally to higher WUE in drought-tolerant cultivars.