Utility of anthesis–silking interval information to predict grain yield under water and nitrogen limited conditions

Abstract

Delayed silking relative to pollen shed, measured as the anthesis-silking interval (ASI, the period between pollen shed and silking), is a good indicator of response to abiotic stresses in maize (Zea mays L.). This research was conducted to investigate how ASI is affected by nitrogen (N) and water availability and to assess the utility of ASI to indirectly predict grain yield (GY) under contrasting water and N treatments. Two experiments were conducted in Hancock, WI, in 2018 and 2019. One experiment (Diverse hybrids) included 302 hybrids resulting from the cross of diverse inbred lines by a single tester evaluated at four different treatment levels resulting from combining nonlimited and low N with nonlimited and low water treatments.The second experiment (NSS FAC) included a set of 408 hybrids derived from the cross of biparental doubled-haploid lines from 13 factorial populations and evaluated under nonlimited and low N treatments. Anthesis and silk time in growing degree days, and GY (Mg ha −1 ) were measured. Genomic prediction was assessed using a genomic best linear unbiased prediction model, and predictive ability was calculated as the correlation between genomic predictions and adjusted means in the different treatments. Predictive ability ranged from .15 to .49 for NSS FAC and from .06 to .51 for Diverse hybrids across traits and treatments. The ASI was a good indicator of stress and showed higher heritability than GY in the limited treatments for both experiments; however, it did not improve yield predictability.

Performance and Stability Analysis of Extra-Early Maturing Orange Maize Hybrids under Drought Stress and Well-Watered Conditions

“…The grain yield loss obtained in the present study ranged from 35 to 89% with an average of 61% under managed drought conditions. These yield losses fall within the range reported by other authors [16,[40][41][42][43]. The magnitude of grain yield reduction as a result of drought is known to depend on the duration and intensity of the drought stress [44][45][46][47].…”

“…The imposed drought stress covered the flowering and grain filling periods. Increased anthesis-silking interval is known to increase the incidence of barrenness [39,40]. The grain yield loss obtained in the present study ranged from 35 to 89% with an average of 61% under managed drought conditions.…”

LEADER (Leaf Element Accumulation from DEep Roots): A nondestructive phenotyping platform to estimate rooting depth in the field

“…Separation due to water treatment was not as universally significant, which may partially be due to the water stress treatment in Hancock relying on differential irrigation within natural rainfall. Water treatments were supplied based on reference potential evapotranspiration, with the well‐watered treatment receiving the recommended amount and the water‐stressed plants receiving 60% of the amount (Lima et al., 2023). Though the timing of irrigation was controlled, we did not have control over natural rainfall events, thus we did not have precise control of the timing of the rainfall events.…”

Maize genetic breeding for tolerance to abiotic stress with focus on sustainable use of environmental resources

“…With the increase in the maize area cultivated in the off-season (Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento [CONAB], 2023), it is expected that the crop will be even more exposed to abiotic stress conditions, such as water deficit, low incidence of solar radiation and variations in air temperature, especially during the final stage of development. In addition to variations in meteorological conditions, maize cultivation covers several regions of Brazil, being subjected to nutrient deficiencies, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, aluminum toxicity, salinity and soil waterlogging (Lima, Leon, & Kaeppler, 2022;Zaidi, Shahid, Seetharam, & Vinayan, 2022).…”

“…However, due to the lower genetic contribution in the expression of this character, selection based on secondary characters has become efficient (Carvalho et al, 2022). Mainly for adaptation to environments with stress caused by meteorological variables, the interval between male and female flowering has been the main secondary character used (Lima et al, 2022;Zaidi et al, 2022).…”