Flag Leaf (flag + leaf)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Relationship between Carbon Isotope Discrimination, Mineral Content and Gas Exchange Parameters in Vegetative Organs of Wheat Grown under Three Different Water Regimes

JOURNAL OF AGRONOMY AND CROP SCIENCE, Issue 3 2010
L. Zhu
Abstract Carbon isotope discrimination (,) has been proposed as an indirect selection criterion for transpiration efficiency and grain yield in wheat. However, because of high cost for , analysis, attempts have been made to identify alternative screening criteria. Ash content (ma) has been proposed as an alternative criterion for , in wheat and barley. A pot experiment was conducted to analyse the relationship between ,, mineral content and gas exchange parameters in seedlings and leaves of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Plants of 10 genotypes were cultivated under three different water regimes corresponding to moderate (T3), intermediate (T2) and severe drought (T1) stress obtained by maintaining soil humidity at 75 %, 55 % and 45 % of the humidity at field capacity respectively. , and ma in seedlings and leaves showed significant differences among the three water treatments. Significant positive correlations were found between , and ma in seedlings and leaves at elongation and anthesis stages in severe drought stress (T1). , was negatively associated with potassium (K) content in intermediate drought stress (T2) and positively with magnesium (Mg) content in T2 and T3 (moderate drought stress) in flag leaf at anthesis. There were negative correlations between , and single-leaf intrinsic water-use efficiency (WT) in T2 and T3 at anthesis stage. Stronger positive associations were noted between , and stomatal conductance (gs) in T1 and T2 than in T3 at anthesis. These results suggested that , is a good trait as an indirect selection criterion for genotypic improvement in transpiration efficiency, while ma is a possible alternative criterion of , in wheat vegetative organs, especially in stressed environments. Significant association was found between , and K, Mg and Ca contents that would merit being better investigated. [source]


Relationship between Carbon Isotope Discrimination and Mineral Content in Wheat Grown under Three Different Water Regimes

JOURNAL OF AGRONOMY AND CROP SCIENCE, Issue 6 2008
L. Zhu
Abstract Carbon isotope discrimination (,) has been proposed as an indirect selection criterion for transpiration efficiency and grain yield in wheat. However, because of the high cost for , analysis, attempts have been carried out to identify alternative screening criteria. Ash content (ma) has been proposed as an alternative criterion for , in wheat and barley. A pot experiment was conducted to analyse the relationship between , and ma in flag leaf and grain. Plants of 10 genotypes were cultivated under three different water regimes corresponding to moderate, intermediate and severe drought stress obtained by maintaining soil humidity at 75 %, 55 % and 45 % of the humidity at field capacity, respectively. , and ma in flag leaf and grain showed significant differences between the moderate, intermediate and severe drought stress levels. Significant correlations were found among genotypes for , and ma in flag leaf under severe drought stress, and for , and ma in grain under intermediate and moderate drought stress. In flag leaf at anthesis, , was negatively associated to K content and positively to Mg content. At maturity, , in grain was negatively correlated with Mg and Ca contents in flag leaf and grain, respectively. These results suggested that these traits may be potentially useful traits, which could be surrogates for ,. [source]


Compensative Effects of Chemical Regulation with Uniconazole on Physiological Damages Caused by Water Deficiency during the Grain Filling Stage of Wheat

JOURNAL OF AGRONOMY AND CROP SCIENCE, Issue 1 2008
L. Duan
Abstract Chemical regulation using plant growth regulators has proved to be potentially beneficial in water-saving agriculture. This experiment was conducted with winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. ,Jingdong 6') to study the effect of chemical regulation on alleviation of water deficit stress during the grain filling stage. Uniconazole, a plant growth regulator, was foliar sprayed at 85 % (adequate irrigation) and 60 % (deficit irrigation) field capacity. Results showed that the distribution of 3H-H2O in roots and flag leaf, characteristics of vascular bundle in primary roots and internode below spike, roots activity, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance of flag leaf were negatively affected by deficit irrigation after flowering. Foliar spraying at the early jointing stage with 13.5 gha,1 uniconazole was able to relieve and compensate for the harmful effects of deficit irrigation. Both the area of vascular bundle in primary roots and internode below the ear were increased by uniconazole, while root viability and their ability to absorb and transport water were increased. In the flag leaf, stomatal conductance was reduced to maintain the transpiration rate and water use efficiency (WUE) measured for a single wheat plant was higher. Uniconazole increased WUE by 25.0 % under adequate and 22 % under deficit irrigations. Under adequate irrigations, the 14C-assimilates export rate from flag leaf in 12 h (E12h) was increased by 65 % and 36 % in early and late filling stages, while under deficit irrigations, the E12h of uniconazole-treated plants exceeded that of control plants by 5 % and 34 % respectively. Physiological damages caused by water deficiency during the grain filling stage of wheat was alleviated by foliar spraying with uniconazole. [source]


Environmental and genetic determination of protein content and grain yield in durum wheat under Mediterranean conditions

PLANT BREEDING, Issue 5 2001
Y. Rharrabti
Abstract The unpredictability of the Mediterranean climate causes fluctuations in wheat yield and quality, but offers the opportunity for obtaining high-quality durum wheat in terms of grain protein content. Twenty-five durum wheat genotypes were grown under irrigated and rainfed conditions at each of two latitudes in Spain during 1998 and 1999. Differences between latitudes in grain protein content and chlorophyll content in the flag leaf were attributable to nitrogen fertilization management. Cycle length until anthesis was less affected by the environment than grain-filling duration, and was longer under irrigated conditions than in the rainfed sites. A negative asymptotic curve was the best equation to fit the relationship between yield and protein content, suggesting that yield improvements in fertile environments may be attained with negligible reductions in protein content. ,Jabato', ,Waha', ,Lagost-3', ,Massara-1' and ,Vit,on' showed medium to high yield, yield stability and high protein content. Chlorophyll content in the flag leaf, measured at anthesis with the soil-plant analysis development (SPAD) portable field unit, may be useful for the fast and cheap detection of durum wheat genotypes with high grain protein content in drought-stressed Mediterranean environments. [source]


Potential contribution of selected canopy traits to the tolerance of foliar disease by spring barley

PLANT PATHOLOGY, Issue 6 2009
I. J. Bingham
A model of canopy photosynthesis and above-ground growth rate was used to investigate the potential impact of several canopy traits on tolerance of foliar disease by barley. Disease tolerance was defined as the reduction in predicted crop dry-matter growth rate per unit of visible disease symptoms. The traits were canopy area (leaf area index, LAI), light extinction coefficient (k) and the ratio of virtual to visible lesion size (,). The effects of altering the area of the healthy flag leaf and its light-saturated rate of photosynthesis (Pmax) in response to disease elsewhere on the plant were also investigated. The model was parameterized for spring barley and run with a solar radiation and temperature regime typical of north-east Scotland. Predicted reductions in growth rate per unit increase in disease were greatest at high disease severity and when disease was distributed relatively uniformly through the canopy. Tolerance was increased by increasing LAI to >3 and k to >0·3, but the beneficial effects depended on the severity and, to a lesser extent, the distribution of disease. Tolerance was reduced by increasing ,. A sensitivity analysis performed at a single disease severity and distribution showed that tolerance was most sensitive to variations in , and compensatory adjustments in area and Pmax of the flag leaf, and least sensitive to whole canopy LAI and k. Future research should quantify the genetic variation in these traits within barley germplasm to evaluate the scope for improving the disease tolerance of spring barley. [source]


Proteome analysis of rice uppermost internodes at the milky stage

PROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 11 2006
Pingfang Yang
Abstract Uppermost internodes, which connect the part between the ear and lower stem, form an important pathway transporting mineral nutrition from roots and photosynthates from leaves (especially the flag leaf) to the ear. The milky stage is the first stage of seed ripening. The uppermost internodes of rice at the milky stage are critical for seed quality and yield. Total soluble proteins of the uppermost internodes of rice (Oryza sativa,L. ssp.,indica) at the milky stage were analyzed using proteomic methods. Using 2-DE, 762,reproducible protein spots were detected. Among them, 132,abundant proteins were analyzed using MALDI-TOF-MS. Searching in the National Center for Biotechnology Information database, we could identify 98,proteins, which represent 80,gene products. These proteins belong to 11,functional groups with energy production-associated proteins in the first place. The large accumulation of proteins involved in metabolism, signaling, and stress resistance indicated that the uppermost internodes of rice have a high physiological and stress-resistant activity. In addition, our results will also enrich the database of the rice proteome. [source]


Crop traits and the tolerance of wheat and barley to foliar disease

ANNALS OF APPLIED BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2009
I.J. Bingham
Abstract The relationship between yield loss and disease severity can differ widely between crops. This has given rise to the concept of disease tolerance, with some crops exhibiting a smaller yield loss under a given severity of disease than others. Genetic improvement to minimise yield loss under disease is an attractive goal, as it exerts little or no selection pressure on pathogen populations, and could form a useful component of durable disease management programmes. However, progress towards this end requires a thorough understanding of the phenotypic traits that influence the response of yield to disease, their genetic control and the possible trade-offs involved with other desirable agronomic characteristics. This paper examines the candidate crop traits that may confer tolerance of foliar disease in wheat and barley and reviews evidence of genetic variation in their expression. In wheat grown under the relatively low light conditions of North-West Europe, post-anthesis source (assimilate supply) and grain sink capacity (capacity for dry matter accumulation) appear to be closely balanced. Traits associated with maintaining post-anthesis radiation interception and radiation use efficiency in spite of disease may confer tolerance. The most promising traits include a larger flag leaf and compensatory increases in photosynthetic rate in non-infected parts of leaves. In barley, yield is often more strongly sink limited, and early-season disease management is required to protect the formation of potential grain sites. A wider range of potential traits may influence tolerance including compensatory adjustments in leaf growth and morphology, and differences in the sensitivity of tiller and spikelet mortality to photoassimilate supply. Different methods for quantifying tolerance are suggested depending on the trait of interest. [source]


Uptake and distribution of root-applied or foliar-applied 65Zn after flowering in aerobic rice

ANNALS OF APPLIED BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2007
W. Jiang
Abstract We investigated the uptake and distribution of zinc (Zn) either applied to the roots or to the leaves in rice during grain development. Plants of two aerobic rice cultivars were grown in a nutrient solution with either sufficient Zn or surplus Zn. Root treatment with 1 week,s supply of both 65Zn and unlabelled Zn was started at flowering or 15 days after flowering (DAF). Foliar treatment with 65Zn applied to the flag leaf or to senescent leaves was carried out at flowering. When 65Zn was applied to roots, plants continued to take up Zn after flowering, even beyond 15 DAF, irrespective of cultivar and Zn nutritional status of the plants. During the 1 week of supply of both 65Zn and unlabelled Zn, which either started at flowering or 15 DAF, the absorbed 65Zn was mainly distributed to roots, stem and grains. Little 65Zn was allocated to the leaves. Following a week of 65Zn supply directly after flowering, under sufficient Zn or surplus Zn, the proportions of total 65Zn uptake allocated to the grains continued to change during grain filling (9,33%). This Zn mainly came from the roots but under sufficient Zn supply also from the stem. With 65Zn applied to leaves (either the flag leaf or the lowest senescent leaf), both cultivars showed similar Zn distribution within the plants. About 45,50% of the 65Zn absorbed was transported out of the 65Zn-treated leaf. From that Zn, more than 90% was translocated to other vegetative organs; little was partitioned to the panicle parts and even less to the grains. These results suggest that in rice plants grown under sufficient or surplus Zn supply, most of the Zn accumulated in the grains originates from uptake by roots after flowering and not from Zn remobilisation from leaves. [source]


Histopathology and PR-protein markers provide insight into adult plant resistance to stripe rust of wheat

MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY, Issue 2 2008
JENNIFER MOLDENHAUER
SUMMARY Stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, is a serious disease of wheat. The spring wheat cultivar Kariega expresses complete adult plant resistance to stripe rust, whereas Avocet S is susceptible. In former studies, quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis of doubled haploid lines derived from a Kariega × Avocet S cross revealed two major QTL (QYr.sgi-7D and QYr.sgi-2B.1) and two minor QTL (QYr.sgi-1A and QYr.sgi-4A.1) responsible for the adult resistance of Kariega in the field. Avocet S contains none of these QTL. In the present study, stripe rust development was compared, by means of fluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy, in flag leaves of Kariega, Avocet S and six doubled haploid (DH) lines, containing all four, none or one QTL. Depending on the QTL present, the infection types of the DH lines ranged from resistant to fully susceptible. No differences in fungal growth were observed during the first 5 days post inoculation (dpi), whereas the mean length of the fungal colonies started to differ at 6 dpi. Interestingly, MP 51 carrying QYr.sgi-7D responded with lignification to the fungal growth without restricting it, whereas MP 35 containing QYr.sgi-2B.1 did not show lignified host tissue, but fungal growth was restricted. RT PCR experiments with sequences of pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins resulted in a slightly stronger induction of PR 1, 2 and 5, known markers for the hypersensitive reaction, and peroxidases in MP 51, whereas a second band for chitinases was detected in MP 35 only. [source]


Awns play a dominant role in carbohydrate production during the grain-filling stages in wheat (Triticum aestivum)

PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM, Issue 4 2006
Xiaojuan Li
In wheat (Triticum aestivum L), the leaves particularly flag leaves have been considered to be the key organs contributing to higher yields, whereas awns have been considered subsidiary organs. Compared with extensive investigations on the assimilation contribution of leaves, the photosynthetic characteristics of awns have not been well studied. In this study, we investigated the ultrastructure of chloroplasts, oxygen evolution, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase [phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPCase) EC 4.1.1.31)] activity in both flag leaves and awns during the ontogenesis of wheat. Transmission electron microscope observations showed initial increases in the sizes of grana and the degree of granum stacks from the florescence-emergence stage both in flag leaves and in awns, followed by the breakdown of membrane systems after the milk-development stage. The results of oxygen evolution assays revealed that in both organs, the rate of photosynthesis increased in the first few stages and then decreased, but the decrease occurred much earlier in flag leaves than in awns. A PEPCase activity assay demonstrated that the activity of PEPCase was much higher in awns than in flag leaves throughout ontogeny; the value was particularly high at the late stages of grain filling. Our results suggest that awns play a dominant role in contributing to large grains and a high grain yield in awned wheat cultivars, particularly during the grain-filling stages. [source]


Histological investigation of stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici) development in resistant and susceptible wheat cultivars

PLANT PATHOLOGY, Issue 4 2006
J. Moldenhauer
The wheat cultivar Kariega expresses complete adult plant resistance against stripe rust, whereas cv. Avocet S is susceptible. Using confocal laser scanning microscopy, initial fungal penetration into flag leaves was identical in both cultivars, with directional germ-tube growth towards stomata that were penetrated without the formation of an appressorium, followed by differentiation of a substomatal vesicle, infection hyphae, haustorial mother cells and haustoria. During the following 4 days, further fungal development occurred more quickly in the resistant than in the susceptible cultivar. However, by 7 days postinoculation (dpi) the situation changed, with exponential growth of the pathogen occurring only in the susceptible line. Induced cellular lignification, a typical defence reaction of cereals, was observed at 4 dpi in the resistant cultivar, and 2 days later lignified tissue completely surrounded the fungal colonies. In the susceptible cultivar, isolated lignified host cells occurred at 6 dpi, and long, unbranched fungal hyphae outgrowing the resistance reaction were observed. [source]