Light interception and radiation use efficiency response to tridimensional uniform sowing in winter wheat

Improving radiation use efficiency （RUE） of the canopy is necessary to increase wheat （Triticum aesfivum） production. Tridimensional uniform sowing （U） technology has previously been used to construct a uniformly distributed population structure that increases RUE. In this study, we used tridimensional uniform sowing to create a wheat canopy within which light was spread evenly to increase RUE. This study was done during 2014-2016 in the Shunyi District, Beijing, China. The soil type was sandy loam. Wheat was grown in two sowing patterns： （1） tridimensional uniform sowing （U）; （2） conventional drilling （D）. Four planting densities were used： 1.8, 2.7, 3.6, and 4.5 million plants ha-1. Several indices were measured to compare the wheat canopies： photosynthetic active radiation intercepted by the canopy （IPAR）, leaf area index （LAI）, leaf mass per unit area （LMA）, canopy extinction coefficient （K）, and RUE. In two sowing patterns, the K values decreased with increasing planting density, but the K values of U were lower than that of D. LMA and IPAR were higher for U than for D, whereas LAI was nearly the same for both sowing patterns. IPAR and LAI increased with increasing density under the same sowing pattern. However, the difference in IPAR and LAI between the 3.6 and 4.5 million plants ha-1 treatments was not significant for both sowing patterns. Therefore, LAI within the same planting density was not affected by sowing pattern. RUE was the largest for the U mode with a planting density of 3.6 million plants ha-1 treatment. For the D sowing pattern, the lowest planting density （1.8 million plants ha-1） resulted in the highest yield. Light radiation interception was minimal for the D mode with a planting density of 1.8 million plants ha-1 treatment, but the highest RUE and highest yield were observed under this condition. For the U sowing pattern, IPAR increased with increasing planting density, but yield and RUE were the highest with a planting density of 3.6 million plants ha-1. These results indicated that the optimal planting density for improving the canopy light environment differed between the sowing patterns. The effect of sowing patternxplanting density interaction on grain yield, yield components, RUE, IPAR, and LMA was significant （P〈0.05）. Correlation analysis indicated that there is a positive significant correlation between grain yield and RUE （t=0.880, P〈0.01）, LMA （r=0.613, P〈0.05）, andspike number （t=0.624, P〈0.05）. These results demonstrated that the tridimensional uniform sowing technique, particularly at a planting density of 3.6 million plants ha-0, can effectively increase light interception and utilization and unit leaf area. This leads to the production of more photosynthetic products that in turn lead to significantly increased spike number （P〈0.05）, kernel number, grain weight, and an overall increase in yield.

Analysis of the linkage positions and isomers of monosaccharide units in oligosaccharides by negative secondary ion mass spectrometry in combination with the stereoselective reaction with substituted boronic acid

The negative secondary ion mass spectrometry,in combination with the stereoselective derivatizations with substituted boronic acid RB(OH)_2,was used in the analysis of fourteen oligosac- charides.The mass spectra of the derivatives provide information on their linkage Positions and iso- merism of the individual monoscaccharide units.The results indicated that among the derivatives of the oligosaccharides analyzed,those with 1—4 and 1—6 linkages all presented the ion peaks at m/z 287,sometimes one more peak at m/z 449.Furthermore,a relationship was found between the linkage positions and the intensity orders of the derivative ions.Finally,the derivatives of the disaccharides with a galactose presented an intense ion peak at m/z 347,and those of oligosaccharides with 1—6 linkage to a galactose at terminal presented the ion at m/z 317.In the case of oligosaccharides with a fructose residue,characteristic ion of m/z 155 was produced.The conditions of stereoselective derivatizations and mass spectrometry were studied,in order to obtain a better reproducibility of the mass spectra.

Divergent patterns of foliar δ^(13)C and δ^(15)N in Quercus aquifolioides with an altitudinal transect on the Tibetan Plateau: an integrated study based on multiple key leaf functional traits

Aims With a close association with plant water availability,foliar δ^(13)C had been investigated extensively in alpine regions;however,foliar δ^(15)N has rarely been concurrently used as an indicator of plant nitrogen availability.Due to the positive correlations between leaf nitrogen con-tent and foliar δ^(13)C andδ15N found in previous studies,we expected that they should show consistent patterns along an altitudinal gradient.Methods To test our hypothesis,we measured foliar δ^(13)C andδ15N in conjunc-tion with multiple key leaf functional traits of Quercus aquifolioides,a dominant species of alpine forest on the eastern slopes of the sygera mountains,southeastern Tibetan Plateau from 2500 to 3800 m.Important findings(i)Contrary to our hypothesis,foliar δ^(13)C exhibited a significant pos-itive linear relationship with altitude;in contrast,foliarδ15N initially increased and subsequently decreased with altitude,the change in trend occurring around 3300 m.(ii)our analyses indicated that leaf internal resistance and stomatal conductance,rather than photosynthetic capacity indicated by leaf N concentration,appar-ently explained the altitudinal variation in foliar δ^(13)C,while differ-ences in foliar δ^(15)N were likely the result of soil N availability.(iii)Principal component analysis revealed a clear association between δ^(13)C and a tradeoff between water loss and carbon gain,indicated by traits related to gas exchange such as leaf thickness,density,sto-matal properties.In contrast,the second axis was associated withδ15N and nitrogen acquisition strategy in Q.aquifolioides across its altitudinal distribution,represented by traits related to nitrogen concentration and stomata per gram of leaf nitrogen.