فهرست مطالب

Plant Production - Volume:11 Issue: 4, Oct 2017

International Journal of Plant Production
Volume:11 Issue: 4, Oct 2017

  • تاریخ انتشار: 1396/07/29
  • تعداد عناوین: 9
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  • L. Zhou, H. Feng*, Y. Zhao, Zh. Qi, T. Zhang, B. Si Page 461
    Sandy fields have been reclaimed to exploit the grain production potential in northwest China. A 2-year statistically replicated field study was conducted to determine the effects of mulched drip irrigation on soil water, soil nitrate, shoot root growth and yields of maize on a sandy field in the Hetao Irrigation District. Treatments included border irrigation (BI), fully mulched drip irrigation (FMDI) and partially mulched drip irrigation (PMDI). Low frequency fertigation and high frequency fertigation were applied in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The results showed that high frequency mulched drip irrigation (MDI) maintained soil moisture and NO3--N at suitable levels and improved soil water uniformity (Cus). Soil NO3--N was adequate for the FMDI treatment of both high and low frequency fertigations, but it was insufficient for the PMDI treatment under low frequency fertigation. Soil water and Cus regulated root−shoot via leaf areas and surface root areas were described well by the ratio of root surface area to leaf area (Sr/l). Higher Cus tended to cause a lower Sr/l. Compared with the BI treatment, a higher yield and harvest index (HI) was obtained under the MDI treatments primarily due to the high number of grains per spike. The FMDI and PMDI treatments resulted in no yield differences under high frequency fertigation. Therefore, high frequency PMDI management with irrigation amounts based on the reference evapotranspiration after the jointing stage were recommended in the sandy maize field based on economic considerations. Under low frequency fertigation, the FMDI treatment was recommended for a higher yield, which was attributable to the higher dry matter of the vegetative organs and maintaining higher levels of soil NO3--N in the upper sand layer when compared to the PMDI treatment.
    Keywords: Soil water uniformity, Harvest index, Mulched drip irrigation, Shoot, root regulation, Sand, layered soil
  • E.M. Hafez *, M.F. Seleiman Page 477
    Two field experiments were carried out in order to investigate the effect of chemical inducers [benzothiadiazole 0.9 mM l-1, oxalic acid 1.0 mM l-1, salicylic acid 0.2 mM l-1] on physiological and technological traits as well as on yields and antioxidant enzyme activities of barley grown under abiotic stress (i.e. water surplus and deficit conditions).
    Results showed that relative water content, leaf area, chlorophyll and yield as well as technological properties of barley were improved with chemical inducers application under water surplus and water-stress conditions. Antioxidant enzymes activity (i.e. catalase and peroxidase) were significantly increased in barley grown under water-stress and treated with chemical inducers. Yield and related parameters of barley presented also significant decrease under water-stress treatment, while chemical inducers application enhanced the yield-related traits. Starch and protein contents were higher in plants treated with salicylic acid than in untreated plants when waterstress was applied. In conclusion, results show that chemical inducers application have a positive interaction and synergetic influence and should be suggested to improve plant growth, yield and technological properties of water stressed barley. Salicylic acid application was better than oxalic acid and benzothiadiazole in terms of plant growth and yield improvement.
    Keywords: Hordeum vulgare L., Drought stress, Yield, Quality, Antioxidant enzymes
  • S. Anwar, J. Kuai, S. Khan, A. Kausar, M. Rehman, N. Shah, G. Zhou * Page 491
    Rice-rapeseed relay cropping is an effective way to use winter fallow fields and increase land use efficiency. However, the overlapping period of 10–15 days for rice-rapeseed cultivation results in reduced winter survival and less yields. Therefore, in this study, we investigated if the treatment of oil rape seeds with paclobutrazol (PAC) improves its winter hardiness and yields by altering its crop morphology. First, a pot experiment was conducted to determine the appropriate PAC concentration to soak seeds upon seedling growth and the germination rate. Another pot trial was performed to check the responses of different rapeseed cultivars to the proposed treatment. Rapeseed was cultivated in no-tillage rice fields at an experimental site in Wuhan from 2009 to 2011. In the absence of PAC treatment, rapeseed sown in pots and rice fields showed excessive elongation of the crown, which resulted in low yields and yield-related traits at maturity. Soaking seeds in PAC improved seedling growth, seedling survival and crown diameter, but decreased the crown length during winter. The most effective concentration of PAC was 4 mg/L and higher concentrations significantly reduced seed germination rates. Our results demonstrated that rapeseed sown in rice fields after the seeds had been soaked with PAC improved seedling quality at the wintering stage and yield at maturity.
    Keywords: Brassica napus, Relay cropping, No, tillage rice field, PAC, Yield improvement
  • A. Younesian, H. Ajam Norouzi *, M. Gholipoor Page 505
    The two-location field experiment was conducted to study the possible alleviation of drought stress effects on red bean by ultrasonication and 24-epi-brassinolid. Locations were Agricultural Research Center in Shahrood, Iran and the other in bean farm, 40 km off Shahrood city in 2015. Experiment factors included irrigation of main plots at three levels of normal irrigation (60 mm evaporation from evaporation pan), mild stress (90 mm evaporation from evaporation pan) and severe stress (120 mm evaporation from evaporation pan). Stress levels were applied after 4-leaf stage and ultrasound waves treatments (in two levels of nonuse of seeds irradiation and use of irradiation for 3 minutes at 32 °C) and 24-epi- brassinolid foliar application (in two levels of nonuse of foliar application and foliar application at a rate of 0.1 mg/L at 50% flowering during two stages) which were located in sub-plots. The evaluated properties included grain yield and contents of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase, proline and ascorbate. The results showed that with severe water stress (comparison of severe stress and lack of stress), grain yield showed a significant decrease in both experiment sites, however 24-epi-brassinolid foliar application and use of ultrasonic waves in both normal and stress conditions increased the grain yield. The same condition was established for evaluated enzymes. Thus it could be stated that irradiation of ultrasonic waves and 24-epi-brassinolid foliar application for cultivating beans play important role in increment of competitive strength of plant in water deficit condition.
    Keywords: Irradiation, Catalase, Superoxide dismutase, Ascorbat, Proline, Proxidase
  • K. Mote *, V. Praveen Rao, V. Ramulu, K. Avil Kumar, M. Uma Devi Page 515
    Alternate wettting and drying (AWD) systems save water compared with continuous submergence (CS) irrigation. However, the reported effect on yield varies widely and detailed characterizations of the hydrological conditions of AWD experiments are often lacking so that generalizations are difficult to make. We compared the effects of AWD and CS on crop and water productivity in rice in the field experimentations in India. The experiment was conducted in irrigated lowlands and followed AWD practices by using field water tube. Crop and water productivity was significantly differed between AWD and CS of irrigation. The average grain yield was 5.8–7.4 t ha−1 with AWD irrigation methods and 7.5–7.6 t ha−1 with CS. The pooled values of irrigation water applied, effective rainfall and seasonal volume of water input varied from 1390, 216 and 1646 mm, respectively under CS and 708 to 1142 mm, 238 to 300 mm and 1048 to 1420 mm, respectively under AWD irrigation regimes. Irrigation water applied in AWD irrigation regimes amounted to 50.9 to 82.1% of CS (1390 mm), averaged over two seasons, the crop in different AWD irrigation regimes used water 63.6 to 86.2% of the CS (1646 mm) suggesting that the AWD practice enabled water saving of 13.8 to 36.4% in different treatments. Therefore, in view of considerable water saving (26.6 to 35.0%) and higher water productivity the AWD method of water management is the best practice to meet the cope of water scarcity in lowland rice production.
    Keywords: Alternate wetting, drying, Lowland rice, Field water tube
  • P. Hongthong, A. Patanothai * Page 533
    Information on variations in crop yield among farmer fields in a specific area and their causal factors is important for efficiently targeting efforts to increase production of the crop in the target area. This study determined the yield variations and their causal factors for sugarcane grown in the service area of a sugar mill in Northeast Thailand. Two villages with the dominant sandy and clayey soil types in the area were selected as the study sites. A questionnaire was used to collect information on management practices and crop yields for the individual fields in the 2012/2013 and 2014/2015 cropping seasons for 369 fields, of which 134 were planted crop and 235 were ratoon crop. A stepwise multiple regression was used in determining the significant factors influencing yields and their order of importance. The results show great variations of sugarcane yields among farmers’ fields in all crop classes, locations and years. However, their significant causal factors differed among crop classes, locations and years. The number of weedings was the most frequent yield constraint identified, followed by pre-harvest burning, number of fertilizer applications and land type. Soil type, diseases and insects, cultivar and frequency of irrigation were sporadically significant. Yield influencing factors in fields at different yield levels also varied, indicating the need for targeting improved management on individual fields. A participatory approach is suggested in the design and implementation of cultural managements for improving sugarcane yield of the individual fields.
    Keywords: Yield gap, Yield constraints, Sugarcane production, Sugarcane cultivation
  • A. Moshatati *, S.A. Siadat, Kh. Alami-Saeid, A.M. Bakhshandeh, M.R. Jalal-Kamali Page 549
    In arid and semi-arid regions of the world bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield is highly limited due to late season heat stress, mostly occurring during the reproductive phase. Hence the current study was conducted to evaluate the effect of late season heat stress on grain yield and yield components of 20 spring bread wheat cultivars. For this purpose, a stripe block experiment including four sowing dates (6th of November, 6th of December, 5th of January and 4th of February) as vertical plots and 20 cultivars in horizontal plots was implemented with three replicates in North-East of Ahwaz, Khuzestan, Iran during 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 growing seasons. The results indicated that the main effect of year, sowing date, cultivar and interaction between sowing date and cultivar were significant for all studied traits. However, no significant interaction was found between year and other factors. Comparison of means showed that grain yield in the second year was higher than the first year. The maximum and minimum values (6.048 ton ha-1 and 1.754 ton ha-1) were obtained when seed sowing was performed on 6th of November and 4th of February, respectively. The maximum grain yield (5.019 ton ha-1) was related to Atila cultivar whereas the minimum yield (3.662 ton ha-1) was obtained from Inia 66 cultivar. In general, the maximum and minimum grain yields were produced by Atila cultivar sown on 6th of December and Seri82 and Roshan sown on 4th of February, respectively. The results suggest that Arvand, Vee/Nac, Atila and Baiat cultivars as heat tolerant cultivars and Roshan, Hamoon, Seri82, Star, Inia66 and Darab2 as susceptible cultivars may be used in heat tolerance studies.
    Keywords: Wheat, Terminal heat stress, Cultivar, grain yield
  • D.L. Mapiemfu, S.A. Ndindeng*, Z. Ambang, E.N. Tang, F. Ngome, J.M. Johnson, A. Tanaka, K. Saito Page 561
    Varietal purity and proportions of grains with brown spots, fissured grains, chalky grains and whole grains in a rice sample are important grain quality attributes influencing consumer's preference and price but little information exist on how these grain quality attributes are affected by biophysical factors and pre-harvest practices. Several authors have studied in isolation the effect of biophysical factors and pre-harvest practices on rice grain quality but most of these studies neither looked at these within the context of agro-ecological zones nor production systems. The effects of agro-ecological zone (AEZ) (highlands, sub-humid, humid and semi-arid), production system (irrigated lowland, rain-fed lowland and rain-fed upland) and pre-harvest practices on grain quality attributes were investigated in 5 African countries using data collected through on-farm survey. The rice samples were generally characterized by low varietal purity, high proportion of brown spots, fissured and chalky grains and a low proportion of whole grains. Also, they had large variations across and within AEZs and production systems. AEZs and crop establishment method affected varietal purity. AEZ, production system affected chalkiness. AEZ and type of variety influenced percentage of grains with fissures. Percentage of whole grains were affected by AEZ, production system and weeding frequency. While grain quality attributes were strongly affected by biophysical factors, there is also room for improving grain quality through good pre-harvest practices.
    Keywords: Agro, ecological zone, Oryza spp, Production systems, Varietal purity, Brown spot, Chalkiness, Fissures, Whole grains, Africa
  • P. Benincasa*, A. Zorzi, F. Panella, G. Tosti, M. Trevini Page 577
    This work was aimed at assessing whether in silage maize it is possible to replace precision planting with a volumetric seeding in the perspective of developing hybrid machines to strip till and sow both high density crops like winter cereals and low density crops like maize. This in order to reduce the number of machines in the farm, simplify logistics and reduce amortization costs. Two experiments were carried out in 2014 and 2015. In the first year, two tillage-sowing treatments were compared in a randomized block design with 5 replicates: 1) strip-tillage plus volumetric band (0.1 m wide) seeding (ST-VBS) carried out by a Claydon Hybrid 6M at inter axle spacing of 0.6 m and with 35 kg ha-1 of seeds; 2) no-tillage plus precision line planting (NT-PLP) carried out by a sod drill Kinze 3100 at row distance of 0.71 m. In the second year, the same two treatments of 2014 were applied, but a third tillage-sowing treatment was also included: strip tillage plus precision line planting (ST-PLP) carried out by a strip tiller Khun Striger at inter axle spacing of 0.71 m plus the Kinze 3100, respectively, in two passages. In 2015, a randomized block design with 3 replicates was adopted. Both in 2014 and 2015 treatments did not differ significantly for actual seeding density and final plant density, individual plant growth indices (plant height, stem diameter, FW, DW) at early stem elongation, flowering and final harvest, neither for total FW and DW yield, nor for biomass composition (starch, protein, lipids, fibre and ash concentrations) at harvest. Results demonstrate that a silage maize crop can perform successfully when established by strip tillage associated with volumetric band seeding. If similar results are demonstrated for high density crops, this will support the strategy of developing hybrid machines to strip till and sow both high density crops and silage maize, which is relevant for many farming systems devoted to forage and biomass production for agro-energy purposes.
    Keywords: Conservation tillage, Seedbed, Seeder, Hybrid machine