Maize stalk stiffness and strength are primarily determined by morphological factors

Stubbs, Christopher J.; Larson, Ryan; Cook, Douglas D.

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-04114-w

Cited by 14 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Contrary to previous results in maize, diurnal variations in turgor pressure, which we hypothesized to be a significant driver of stalk flexural stiffness, explain a relatively small fraction of the observed variance [18]. This finding is consistent with the complex physiology of plants, where multiple interacting factors may obscure the influence of turgor pressure on the mechanical properties of stalks [10,30,31]. Our results are particularly surprising given the significant diurnal fluctuation in turgor pressure observed, which changes at ranges spanning over an order of magnitude.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Sorghum bicolor L. Stalk Stiffness Is Marginally Affected by Time of Day under Field Conditions

Bokros,

Woomer,

Schroeder

et al. 2024

Agriculture

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study sought to better understand how time of day (ToD) or turgor pressure might affect the flexural stiffness of sweet sorghum stalks and potentially regulate stalk lodging resistance. Stalk flexural stiffness measured across a 48 h period in 2019 showed a significant diurnal association with leaf water potential and stalk flexural stiffness. While the correlation between stalk flexural stiffness and this proxy for internal turgor status was statistically significant, it only accounted for roughly 2% of the overall variance in stiffness. Given that turgor status is a dynamic rather than fixed physiological variable like the cellular structure, these data suggest that internal turgor plays a small yet significant role in influencing the flexural stiffness of fully mature stalks prior to a stalk lodging event. The association was assessed at earlier developmental stages across three distinct cultivars and found not to be significant. Panicle weight and stalk basal weight, but not stalk Brix or water content, were found to be better predictors of stalk flexural stiffness than either ToD or turgor status. Observation across three cultivars and four distinct developmental stages ranging from the vegetative to the hard-dough stages suggests that stalk flexural stiffness changes significantly as a function of time. However, neither ToD nor turgor status appear to meaningfully contribute to observed variations in stalk flexural stiffness in either individual stalks or across larger populations. As turgor status was not found to meaningfully influence stalk strength or flexural stiffness at any developmental time point examined in any of the three sweet sorghum cultivars under study, turgor pressure likely offers only inconsequential contributions to the biomechanics underlying sweet sorghum stalk lodging resistance.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Sorghum bicolor L. Stalk Stiffness Is Marginally Affected by Time of Day under Field Conditions

Bokros,

Woomer,

Schroeder

et al. 2024

Agriculture

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In this study, CS, RPS, and BS were measured as common indicators of stalk strength; however, maize stalk architecture had a much greater influence on stalk strength than the mechanical tissue properties and chemical composition (Robertson et al, 2022;Stubbs et al, 2022). Maize stalk strength is primarily determined by stalk geometric factors, such as the section modulus, which could be highly predictive of stalk strength and are not significantly affected by cultivars, planting location, or planting density (Robertson et al, 2017).…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 83%

Defoliation at seedling stage enhances maize yield by reducing lodging

Zou

et al. 2023

Agronomy Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Lodging greatly reduces maize (Zea mays L.) grain yield and harvest efficiency. We conducted a 3-year (2018-2020) field experiment in Fengcheng city, Liaoning, China to investigate the effects of maize seedling defoliation on lodging resistance and grain yield. Two cultivars, Liangyu99 and Hongshuo, were tested without (control treatment) and with defoliation at seedling stage (V4 stage: DS treatment). Compared with the control, DS significantly (p < 0.05) decreased stalk lodging by 63.2%-77.9% and 51.0%-75.1%, contributing to the increase in grain yield by 4.94%-7.76% and 9.75%-19.6% for Liangyu99 and Hongshuo, respectively, during 2018-2020. The improvement of maize lodging resistance by seeding defoliation was mainly due to changes in plant morphology. On average, 12.0% and 21.9% declines in plant and ear heights, respectively, were observed and the number of internodes below the ear was reduced by 1-2 units for both cultivars with DS. A comparison of cultivars revealed that the increase in grain yield with defoliation was approximately twofold greater for Hongshuo than for Liangyu99. The greatest yield increase due to seedling defoliation was observed in 2018, when the yield was lowest with the nontreated control. However, in environments where lodging is less common, suppression of early vegetative growth would probably make little, if any, contribution to maize yield. These results suggest that defoliation of maize seedlings could be a profitable agronomic practice for maize grown in areas that experience frequent lodging.

show abstract

“…The stalk of RG2 was also different from D1 (Supplementary Figure S3). The morphological factors of maize have been reported to have a significant influence on its strength [87]. Microstructure and density also play a role in stalk strength [14,88].…”

Section: Crystallinity and Mfa Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Lodging Variability in Sorghum Stalks Is Dependent on the Biomechanical and Chemical Composition of the Stalk Rinds

Mengistie,

Bokros,

DeBolt

et al. 2024

Crops

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Stalk lodging contributes to significant crop yield losses. Therefore, understanding the biomechanical strength and structural rigidity of grain stalks can contribute to improving stalk lodging resistance in crops. From the structural constituents of the stalk, the rind provides the principal structure, supporting cells against tension and bending loads. In this work, the biomechanical and viscoelastic behavior of the rind from the internodes of two sweet sorghum varieties (Della and REDforGREEN (RG)), grown in two different growing seasons, were evaluated by three-point micro-bending tests using a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA). In addition, the chemical composition of rinds and the microfibril angle (MFA) of the cell wall were determined using XRD. The results revealed that the biomechanical behavior of Della varieties was stiffer and more resistant to loads than that of RG varieties. Two features of the rind biomechanical properties, flexural modulus (FM) and flexural strength (FS), showed a significant reduction for RG. Particularly, a reduction in FS of 16–37% and in FM of 22–41% were detected for RG1. Changes in the stalks’ rind biomechanical properties were attributed to cell wall components. Total lignin and glucan/cellulose contents were positively correlated with the FM and FS of the rind. Subsequently, an increase in the two cell wall components drove an increase in stiffness. Furthermore, the MFA of the rind was also found to influence the rind strength.

show abstract

Maize stalk stiffness and strength are primarily determined by morphological factors

Cited by 14 publications

References 20 publications

Sorghum bicolor L. Stalk Stiffness Is Marginally Affected by Time of Day under Field Conditions

Sorghum bicolor L. Stalk Stiffness Is Marginally Affected by Time of Day under Field Conditions

Defoliation at seedling stage enhances maize yield by reducing lodging

Lodging Variability in Sorghum Stalks Is Dependent on the Biomechanical and Chemical Composition of the Stalk Rinds

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About