Impacts of high temperature,relative air humidity,and vapor pressure deficit on the seed set of contrasting maize genotypes during flowering

Heat stress is a major constraint to current and future maize production at the global scale.Male and female reproductive organs both play major roles in increasing seed set under heat stress at flowering,but their relative contributions to seed set are unclear.In this study,a 2-year field experiment including three sowing dates in each year and 20 inbred lines was conducted.Seed set,kernel number per ear,and grain yield were all reduced by more than 80%in the third sowing dates compared to the first sowing dates.Pollen viability,silk emergence ratio,and anthesis-silking interval were the key determinants of seed set under heat stress;and their correlation coefficients were 0.89^(***),0.65^(***),and-0.72^(***),respectively.Vapor pressure deficit(VPD)and relative air humidity(RH)both had significant correlations with pollen viability and the silk emergence ratio.High RH can alleviate the impacts of heat on maize seed set by maintaining high pollen viability and a high silk emergence ratio.Under a warming climate from 2020 to 2050,VPD will decrease due to the increased RH.Based on their pollen viability and silk emergence ratios,the 20 genotypes fell into four different groups.The group with high pollen viability and a high silk emergence ratio performed better under heat stress,and their performance can be further improved by combining the improved flowering pattern traits.

From the floret to the canopy:High temperature tolerance during flowering

Heat waves induced by climate warming have become common in food-producing regions worldwide,frequently coinciding with high temperature(HT)-sensitive stages of many crops and thus threatening global food security.Understanding the HT sensitivity of reproductive organs is currently of great interest for increasing seed set.The responses of seed set to HT involve multiple processes in both male and female reproductive organs,but we currently lack an integrated and systematic summary of these responses for the world’s three leading food crops(rice,wheat,and maize).In the present work,we define the critical high temperature thresholds for seed set in rice(37.2℃±0.2℃),wheat(27.3℃±0.5℃),and maize(37.9℃±0.4℃)during flowering.We assess the HT sensitivity of these three cereals from the microspore stage to the lag period,including effects of HT on flowering dynamics,floret growth and development,pollination,and fertilization.Our review synthesizes existing knowledge about the effects of HT stress on spikelet opening,anther dehiscence,pollen shedding number,pollen viability,pistil and stigma function,pollen germination on the stigma,and pollen tube elongation.HT-induced spikelet closure and arrest of pollen tube elongation have a catastrophic effect on pollination and fertilization in maize.Rice benefits from pollination under HT stress owing to bottom anther dehiscence and cleistogamy.Cleistogamy and secondary spikelet opening increase the probability of pollination success in wheat under HT stress.However,cereal crops themselves also have protective measures under HT stress.Lower canopy/tissue temperatures compared with air temperatures indicate that cereal crops,especially rice,can partly protect themselves from heat damage.In maize,husk leaves reduce inner ear temperature by about 5℃compared with outer ear temperature,thereby protecting the later phases of pollen tube growth and fertilization processes.These findings have important implications for accurate modeling,optimized crop management,and breeding of new varieties to cope with HT stress in the most important staple crops.