Characterization of culm morphology, anatomy and chemical composition of foxtail millet cultivars differing in lodging resistance

Abstract

Lodging can be an important factor in limiting yield and quality of summer foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.]. Although lodging resistance varies among different genotypes, direct selection for lodging resistance is difficult because of its sporadic occurrence in the field and inconsistency between years. A 2-year-field study was conducted with 35 summer foxtail millet cultivars or advanced breeding lines to determine the association between lodging resistance and culm morphology, anatomy and chemical composition. Path analyses indicated that stem-breaking strength had the most important effect on the lodging coefficient. The breaking strength of stem was associated with specific morphological properties of the culm, such as greater culm diameter and most importantly culm wall thickness. Width of sclerenchyma tissue, and the number and sheath width of the large vascular bundles were the major anatomical properties that influenced stem-breaking strength. The cellulose and lignin compositions of the culm had different effects on stem-breaking strength. Cultivars with smaller lodging coefficients contained higher levels of cellulose, but lower levels of lignin than the cultivars that were more prone to lodging. The findings from the present study provide useful information on lodging-associated traits in the culm that can be used as indicators for the improvement of lodging resistance in foxtail millet.

Optimizing plant density and nitrogen application to manipulate tiller growth and increase grain yield and nitrogen-use efficiency in winter wheat

“…Plant density and N application have significant effects on culm development. Vascular bundle number (NVB) and area (AVB) are the major anatomical features influencing stem-breaking strength and transportation (Tian et al, 2015). We found that whereas increasing plant density significantly decreased NVB and AVB at the first internode, an increase in N application increased NVB and AVB, and GN and yield per spike also increased with excessive N application, Moreover, the results of correlation analysis indicated that the number vascular bundle was significantly positively correlated with yield per spike, and that vascular bundle area was significantly positively correlated with grain filling rate.…”

Studies of the relationship between rice stem composition and lodging resistance

“…Stalk lodging in maize was positively correlated with basal internode length (Esechie, 1985), but negatively correlated with basal internode diameter (Martin and Russell, 1984;Novacek et al, 2013). The lodging coefficient of the stem in foxtail millet was associated with specific morphological properties of the culm, such as greater culm diameter, culm wall thickness (Tian et al, 2015). Wang et al (2006Wang et al ( , 2012 reported that the most important anatomical and chemical properties for selection of lodging-resistant wheat cultivars were the ratio of culm wall thickness to the outer radius.…”

“…Lodging causes poor grain filling and yield loss, reduces grain quality, and reduces mechanical harvesting efficiency (Acreche and Slafer, 2011; Berry and Spink, 2012). Much research has been carried out on the external form, internal structure, chemical composition and mechanical strength of cereal crops and how this affects lodging (Esechie, 1985; Luo et al , 2007; Kong et al , 2013; Novacek et al ., 2013; Tian et al , 2015).…”

“…The mechanical strength of the stem, closely related to stalk lodging, depends not only on the thickness and length of the stem, but also on the anatomical structure (vascular bundle, mechanical tissue, etc.) and chemical composition of the stem (Luo et al , 2007; Tian et al , 2015). The unit number of large vascular bundles and proportion of sclerenchyma tissue in the culm had a positive correlation with the stem's mechanical strength in wheat (Wang et al , 2006).…”

Microstructure evidence of rice lodging resistance based on quantitative X‐ray microtomography

“…Lodging is one of the main factors that limits cereal yield and seriously affects the mechanical harvesting efficiency (Berry especially the strength of the basal internodes (Liu, Ma, Zhao, & Zhou, 2018;Zuber et al, 1999). The strength of the internode of crop stems is mainly determined by their morphological traits and anatomical structure (Tian et al, 2015;Zhang et al, 2016). Previous studies have shown that in terms of phenotype, crops have slender stems, long internodes, and poor lodging resistance (Liu et al, 2018;Nomura et al, 2019;Weng et al, 2017;Zhang et al, 2014).…”