Grain yield losses in yellow-rusted durum wheat estimated using digital and conventional parameters under field conditions

The biotrophic fungus Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici is the causal agent of the yellow rust in wheat. Between the years 2010–2013 a new strain of this pathogen(Warrior/Ambition),against which the present cultivated wheat varieties have no resistance, appeared and spread rapidly. It threatens cereal production in most of Europe. The search for sources of resistance to this strain is proposed as the most efficient and safe solution to ensure high grain production. This will be helped by the development of high performance and low cost techniques for field phenotyping. In this study we analyzed vegetation indices in the Red,Green, Blue(RGB) images of crop canopies under field conditions. We evaluated their accuracy in predicting grain yield and assessing disease severity in comparison to other field measurements including the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI), leaf chlorophyll content, stomatal conductance, and canopy temperature. We also discuss yield components and agronomic parameters in relation to grain yield and disease severity.RGB-based indices proved to be accurate predictors of grain yield and grain yield losses associated with yellow rust(R2= 0.581 and R2= 0.536, respectively), far surpassing the predictive ability of NDVI(R2= 0.118 and R2= 0.128, respectively). In comparison to potential yield, we found the presence of disease to be correlated with reductions in the number of grains per spike, grains per square meter, kernel weight and harvest index. Grain yield losses in the presence of yellow rust were also greater in later heading varieties. The combination of RGB-based indices and days to heading together explained 70.9% of the variability in grain yield and 62.7% of the yield losses.

Contribution of the ear and the flag leaf to grainfilling in durum wheat inferred from the carbon isotope signature: Genotypic and growing conditions effects

The ear, together with the flag leaf, is believed to play a major role as a source of assimilates during grain filling in C3cereals. However, the intrusive nature of most of the available methodologies prevents reaching conclusive results in this regard. This study compares the carbon isotope composition(d13C) in its natural abundance in the water‐soluble fractions of the flag leaf blade and the ear with the d13C of mature kernels to assess the relative contribution of both organs to grain filling in durum wheat(Triticum turgidum L. var.durum). The relative contribution of the ear was higher in landraces compared to modern cultivars, as well as in response to nitrogen fertilization and water stress. Such genotypic and environmentally driven differences were associated with changes in harvest index(HI), with the relative contribution of the ear being negatively associated with HI. In the case of the genotypic differences, the lower relative contribution of the ear in modern cultivars compared with landraces is probably associated with the appearance in the former of a certain amount of source limitation driven by a higher HI. In fact, the relative contribution of the ear was far more responsive to changes in HI in modern cultivars compared with landraces.

Wheat ear carbon assimilation and nitrogen remobilization contribute significantly to grain yield

The role of wheat ears as a source of nitrogen(N)and carbon(C) in the grain filling process has barely been studied. To resolve this question, five wheat genotypes were labeled with15N-enriched nutrient solution. N remobilization and absorption were estimated via the nitrogen isotope composition of total organic matter and Rubisco. Gas exchange analyses showed that ear photosynthesis contributed substantially to grain filling in spite of the great loss of C due to respiration. Of the total kernel N, 64.7% was derived from the N acquired between sowing and anthesis, while the remaining35.3% was derived from the N acquired between anthesis and maturity. In addition, 1.87 times more N was remobilized to the developing kernel from the ear than from the flag leaf. The higher yielding genotypes showed an increased N remobilization to the kernel compared to the lower yielding genotypes. Inaddition, the higher yielding genotypes remobilized more N from the ears to the kernel than the lower yielding genotypes,while the lower yielding genotypes remobilized more N from the flag leaf to the kernel. Therefore, the ears contribute significantly toward fulfilling C and N demands during grain filling.

Physiological traits contributed to the recent increase in yield potential of winter wheat from Henan Province, China

This experiment aims to test the traits responsible for the increase in yield potential of winter wheat released in Henan Province, China. Seven established cultivars released in the last 20 years and three advanced lines were assayed. The results showed that grain yield was positively correlated with harvest index(HI), kernel number per square meter, and aboveground biomass. In addition, the HI and aboveground biomass showed an increasing trend with the year of release.Therefore, we can conclude that bread wheat breeding advances during recent decades in Henan Province, China,have been achieved through an increase in HI, kernel number per square meter, and aboveground biomass. A higher d13C seems also to be involved in these advances, which suggests a progressive improvement in constitutive water use efficiency not associated with a trend towards lower stomatal conductance in the most recent genotypes. However, genetic advance Researchdoes not appear related to changes in photosynthesis rates on area basis when measured in the flag leaf or the spike,but only to a higher, whole‐spike photosynthesis. Results also indirectly support the concept that under potential yield conditions, the spike contributed more than the flag leaf to kernel formation.