Quantifying sugarcane cultivar differences in tiller and stalk phenology: identifying traits suited to crop model-assisted breeding

Abstract Crop models can be used to explain yield variations associated with management practices, environment and genotype. This study aimed to assess the effect of plant densities using CSM-CROPGRO-Soybean for low latitudes. The crop model was calibrated and evaluated using data from field experiments, including plant densities (10, 20, 30 and 40 plants per m2), maturity groups (MG 7.7 and 8.8) and sowing dates (calibration: 06 Jan., 19 Jan., 16 Feb. 2018; and evaluation: 19 Jan. 2019). The model simulated phenology with a bias lower than 2 days for calibration and 7 days for evaluation. Relative root mean square error for the maximum leaf area index varied from 12.2 to 31.3%; while that for grain yield varied between 3 and 32%. The calibrated model was used to simulate different management scenarios across six sites located in the low latitude, considering 33 growing seasons. Simulations showed a higher yield for 40 pl per m2, as expected, but with greater yield gain increments occurring at low plant density going from 10 to 20 pl per m2. In Santarém, Brazil, MG 8.8 sown on 21 Feb. had a median yield of 2658, 3197, 3442 and 3583 kg/ha, respectively, for 10, 20, 30 and 40 pl per m2, resulting in a relative increase of 20, 8 and 4% for each additional 10 pl per m2. Overall, the crop model had adequate performance, indicating a minimum recommended plant density of 20 pl per m2, while sowing dates and maturity groups showed different yield level and pattern across sites in function of the local climate.

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STICS crop model and Sentinel-2 images for monitoring rice growth and yield in the Camargue region

Agronomy for Sustainable Development ◽

10.1007/s13593-021-00697-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 41 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Dominique Courault ◽

Laure Hossard ◽

Valérie Demarez ◽

Hélène Dechatre ◽

Kamran Irfan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Crop Model ◽

Growth And Yield ◽

Rice Growth ◽

Sentinel 2

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Biochar Mediated-Alleviation of Chromium Stress and Growth Improvement of Different Maize Cultivars in Tannery Polluted Soils

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18094461 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (9) ◽

pp. 4461

Author(s):

Muhammad Asaad Bashir ◽

Xiukang Wang ◽

Muhammad Naveed ◽

Adnan Mustafa ◽

Sobia Ashraf ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soluble Sugars ◽

Cultivar Differences ◽

Leather Industry ◽

Polluted Soils ◽

Chlorophyll Pigments ◽

Growth Physiology ◽

Maize Cultivars ◽

Physiology And Biochemistry ◽

Cr Toxicity ◽

Relative Water

Soil pollution with heavy metal is a serious problem across the globe and is on the rise due to the current intensification of chemical industry. The leather industry is one of them, discharging chromium (Cr) in huge quantities during the process of leather tanning and polluting the nearby land and water resources, resulting in deterioration of plant growth. In this study, the effects of biochar application at the rate of 3% were studied on four maize cultivars, namely NK-8441, P-1543, NK-8711, and FH-985, grown in two different tannery polluted Kasur (K) and Sialkot (S) soils. Maize plants were harvested at vegetative growth and results showed that Cr toxicity adversely not only affected their growth, physiology, and biochemistry, but also accumulated in their tissues. However, the level of Cr toxicity, accumulation, and its influence on maize cultivars varied greatly in both soils. In this pot experiment, biochar application played a crucial role in lessening the Cr toxicity level, resulting in significant increase in plant height, biomass (fresh and dry), leaf area, chlorophyll pigments, photosynthesis, and relative water content (RWC) over treatment set as a control. However, applied biochar significantly decreased the electrolyte leakage (EL), antioxidant enzymes, lipid peroxidation, proline content, soluble sugars, and available fraction of Cr in soil as well as Cr (VI and III) concentration in root and shoot tissues of maize plant. In addition to this, maize cultivar differences were also found in relation to their tolerance to Cr toxicity and cultivar P-1543 performed better over other cultivars in both soils. In conclusion, biochar application in tannery polluted soils could be an efficient ecofriendly approach to reduce the Cr toxicity and to promote plant health and growth.

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Defoliation frequency and cultivar effects on the storage and utilisation of stolon and root reserves in white clover

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.1071/ar00039 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 51 (8) ◽

pp. 1039 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

A. R. Lawson ◽

K. B. Kelly ◽

P. W. G. Sale

Keyword(s):

White Clover ◽

Plant Size ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Cultivar Differences ◽

Soluble Carbohydrate ◽

Leaf Production ◽

Plant Weight ◽

Stolon Length ◽

Defoliation Frequency ◽

Leaf Appearance

The effects of defoliation frequency (2 or 6 defoliations over a 91-day period) on the reserve status and growth rate of 2 white clover cultivars, cvv. Irrigation (medium-leafed) and Haifa (large-leafed), were examined over the final 42 days of the defoliation treatments. The clover plants consisted of single stolons growing in a sand/scoria mix in an unheated glasshouse, and were fertilised weekly with a solution containing essential nutrients excluding nitrogen. More frequent defoliation reduced the leaf appearance rate, stolon elongation rate, and plant size, and increased stolon death, with all of these effects being less pronounced in Irrigation than in Haifa (18% v. 30%, 60% v. 80%, and 23% v 34%, respectively, for leaf appearance rates, stolon elongation rates, and the proportion of stolon length that died). With infrequent defoliation, the combined utilisation of starch and water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) reserves in the first 14 days after defoliation was equivalent to 15% of the plant weight at defoliation, and to 95% of the new leaf produced during that period. Frequent defoliation reduced the reserve content and remobilisation less in Irrigation than in Haifa, with the combined mass of remobilised starch and WSC over the first 14 days after defoliation being 2.9% and 2.0% of the plant weight at defoliation, and 29% and 19% of leaf production over that period, for Irrigation and Haifa, respectively. The greater reserve mobilisation in Irrigation than in Haifa plants under frequent defoliation probably contributed to their higher growth rates and reduced stolon death. These cultivar differences with frequent defoliation suggest that Irrigation is more suited to frequent defoliation than Haifa.

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