Evaluation on the High Yielding, Stability and Comprehensive Performances of Check Cultivars in National Cotton Regional Trials in the Yangtze River Valley

[Objective] This study was to analyze the high yielding, stability, adaptability and main characteristics of check cultivars in national cotton regional trials in the Yangtze River Valley in 2000-2013, with the aim to provide theoretical basis for the reasonable selection of check cultivars for cotton regional trials. [Method] GGE biplot analysis method was used to carry out the intensive analysis and comprehensive comparisons on the performances and differences of the 9 major characters of check cultivars, namely, lint cotton yield, stability, and other main traits including boll weight, boll number, lint percentage, fiber length, fiber strength, micronaire value, plant height and seed index. [Result] Ezamian 10 was suitable in the majority of cotton planting regions in the Yangtze River Valley, with the best high yielding ability and perfect yield stability. The yielding ability of Xiangzamian 8 ranked the second, but its stability was the poorest. Xiangzamian 8 was of the specific adaptive cultivar with relatively good performance in high yielding but the poorest stability.The suitable planting areas of Xiangzamian 8 were limited to the cotton planting region around Dongting Lake in Hunan province, Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province,the Coastal region in Jiangsu Province and Wuhan district in Hubei Province. Xiangzamian 2 performanced poorer in both yielding and stability, while Simian 3ranked first in stability but the last in yielding ability. The dominant character of Xiangzamian 8 and Xiangzamian 2 were high cotton plants and big bolls. Simian 3performanced super in lint percentage and fiber length. Ezamian 10 was strong in cotton boll formation ability, lint cotton yielding, fiber strength and seed size, as well as high micronaire value. [Conclusion] The outstanding performance of Ezamian 10 in high and stable yield in the Yangtze River Valley in recent years has effectively promoted the high yielding ability of candidate varieties in cotton regional trials in the area.

Evaluation of yield,stability and adaptability of national winter rapeseed regional trials in the upper Yangtze River region in 2017-2018

Rapeseed variety needs to be tested by regional trial in multiple sites for many years before being applied in market in China.Performants of rapeseed were affected by the interaction of sites and varieties.Evaluation of regional trials is very important for guiding rapeseed breeding.GGE(genotype main effects and genotypeenvironment interaction)biplot was used to evaluate yield,stability,adaptability,representativeness and discrimination of national winter rapeseed trials in the upper reaches of Yangtze River in 2017-2018.Results showed that the main effects of genotype(G),environment(E)and genotypeenvironment interaction(GE)were significant(P<0.01)for yield.Among them,E accounted for 46.95%total variation on average,G and GE accounted for 19.34%and 33.71%respectively.Eight varieties were found with high-yield,excellent stability and adaptability,including‘Yiyou 29’,‘Xiwang 920’,‘Liyouza 108’,‘Nanyou 546’,‘Dadi 195’,‘Jiayou 1’,‘Huayouza 28’and‘Yuhua 2’.Test sites included Nanchong,Mianyang,Wanzhou,Shuangliu and Chengdu in Sichuan Province and Zunyi together with Guiyang in Guizhou Province were selected for their excellent representativeness and discrimination.These results would provide theoretical basis for rapeseed breeding.

Overview on current criteria for heavy metals and its hint for the revision of soil environmental quality standards in China

Following rapid social and economic development over the past several decades, soil pollution by heavy metals(HMs) has been both serious and widespread in China. The Soil Environmental Quality Standards(SEQSs) in China(GB 15618-1995) have been introduced to encourage and enforce sustainable soil HM management. However, in recent years, HM contents in soils have frequently been found to exceed their associated standard values, while the crops growing on them might still meet regulatory standards, and vice versa. There is thus growing awareness that GB 15618-1995 does not effectively regulate current soil HM pollution, as it has encountered bottlenecks, and disappointing outcomes caused by poor execution along with deficiencies and gaps in the policies. However, due to the deficiency of scientific research about relationships between soil HM concentrations and their ecological or human health effects, the development of SEQSs in China is still greatly restricted. This paper discusses international SEQSs of HMs as well their development in China over time, then examines current Chinese SEQSs to demonstrate their potential regulatory deficiencies by referring to international SEQSs. The corresponding legislative policies are described, and scientific information or responses are outlined for maintaining soil environmental quality. China’s experience has shown that policy and science can be linked to work in tandem to better understand and manage soil quality issues.

Wheat breeding in northern China: Achievements and technical advances

Common wheat is the major cereal crop that underpins the food safety of China. Both winter wheat and spring wheat are grown on ~24 million ha. This review aims to summarize the current status of wheat production and breeding progress in the northern wheat production areas of the country, and to review recently advanced technologies being applied in wheat breeding, including the use of dwarf-male-sterile(DMS) wheat, speed breeding and specialized wheat breeding SNP chips. Crossing is the initial step in most breeding programs. DMS wheat is a convenient tool for large scale production of hybrid seed. Speed breeding or accelerated generation turnover attempts to reduce the time taken in cultivar development. Several different SNP chips are high-throughput, genome-wide genotyping platforms for breeding and research.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS ON THE INFLUENCE OF THE LANDFALLING STRONG TROPICAL CYCLONES IN THE CATASTROPHIC MIGRATIONS OF NILAPARVATA LUGENS(STL) IN CHINA

In order to clarify the statistical pattern by which landfalling strong tropical cyclones(LSTCs)influenced the catastrophic migrations of rice brown planthopper(BPH),Nilaparvata lugens(stl)in China,the data of the LSTCs in China and the lighting catches of BPH that covered the main Chinese rice-growing regions from 1979 to 2008 were collected and analyzed in this work with the assistance of ArcGIS9.3,a software of geographic information system.The results were as follows:(1)In China,there were 220 strong tropical cyclones that passed the main rice-growing regions and 466 great events of BPH’s immigration in the 30 years from 1979 to 2008.73 of them resulted in the occurrence of BPH’s catastrphic migration(CM)events directly and 147 of them produced indirect effect on the migrations.(2)The number of the LSTCs was variable in different years during 1979 to 2008 and their influence was not the same in the BPH’s northward and southward migrations in the years.In the 30 years,the LSTCs brought more obvious influence on the migrations in 1980,1981,2005,2006 and 2007.The influence was the most obvious in2007 and all of the 7 LSTCs produced remarkable impact on the CMs of BPH’s populations.The effect of the LSTCs on the northward immigration of BPH’s populations was the most serious in 2006 and the influence on the southward immigration was the most remarkable in 2005.(3)In these years,the most of LSTCs occurred in July,August and September and great events of BPH's immigration occurred most frequently in the same months.The LSTCs played a more important role on the CM of BPH’s populations in the three months than in other months.(4)The analysis on the spatial distribution of the LSTCs and BPH’s immigration events for the different provinces showed that the BPH’s migrations in the main rice-growing regions of the Southeastern China were influenced by the LSTCs and the impact was different with the change of their spatial probability distribution during their passages.The most serious influence of the LSTCs on the BPH’s migrations occurred in Guangdong and Fujian provinces.(5)The statistical results indicated that a suitable insect source is an indispensable condition of the CMs of BPH when a LSTC influenced a rice-growing region.

IMPACT OF ATMOSPHERIC LOW-FREQUENCY OSCILLATION ON THE IMMIGRATION OF NILAPARVATA LUGENS(STL) IN HUNAN AND JIANGXI PROVINCES

Various features of the atmospheric environment affect the number of migratory insects, besides their initial population. However, little is known about the impact of atmospheric low-frequency oscillation(10 to 90 days) on insect migration. A case study was conducted to ascertain the influence of low-frequency atmospheric oscillation on the immigration of brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens(Stl), in Hunan and Jiangxi provinces. The results showed the following:(1) The number of immigrating N. lugens from April to June of 2007 through 2016 mainly exhibited a periodic oscillation of 10 to 20 days.(2) The 10-20 d low-frequency number of immigrating N. lugens was significantly correlated with a low-frequency wind field and a geopotential height field at 850 h Pa.(3) During the peak phase of immigration, southwest or south winds served as a driving force and carried N. lugens populations northward, and when in the back of the trough and the front of the ridge, the downward airflow created a favorable condition for N. lugens to land in the study area. In conclusion, the northward migration of N. lugens was influenced by a low-frequency atmospheric circulation based on the analysis of dynamics. This study was the first research connecting atmospheric low-frequency oscillation to insect migration.

Identification, characterization and full-length sequence analysis of a novel endornavirus in common sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)

To identify the possible quarantine viruses in seven common sunflower varieties imported from the United States of America and the Netherlands, we tested total RNAs extracted from the leaf tissues using next-generation sequencing of small RNAs. After analysis of small RNA sequencing data, no any quarantine virus was found, but a double-stranded RNA（dsRNA） molecule showing typical genomic features of endornavirus was detected in two varieties, X3939 and SH1108. Full-length sequence and phylogenetic analysis showed that it is a novel endornavirus, temporarily named as Helianthus annuus alphaendornavirus（HaEV）. Its full genome corresponds to a 14 662-bp dsRNA segment, including a 21-nt 5′ untranslated region（UTR）, 3＇ UTR ending with the unique sequence CCCCCCCC and lacking a poly（A） tail. An open reading frame（ORF） that encodes a deduced 4 867 amino acids（aa） polyprotein with three domains： RdRP, Hel and UGT（UDP-glycosyltransferase）. HaEV mainly distributed in the cytoplasm but less in the nucleus of leaf cells by fluorescence in situ hybridization（FISH） experiment. This virus has a high seed infection rate in the five varieties, X3907, X3939, A231, SH1108 and SR1320. To our knowledge, this is the first report about the virus of the family Endornaviridae in the common sunflower.

Identifying the limiting factors driving the winter wheat yield gap on smallholder farms by agronomic diagnosis in North China Plain

North China Plain(NCP) is the primary winter wheat production region in China, characterized by smallholder farming systems. Whereas the winter wheat average yield of smallholder farmers is currently low, the yield potential and limiting factors driving the current yield gap remain unclear. Therefore, increasing the wheat yield in NCP is essential for the national food security. This study monitored wheat yield, management practices and soil nutrient data in 132 farmers’ fields of Xushui County, Baoding City, Hebei Province during 2014–2016. These data were analyzed using variance and path analysis to determine the yield gap and the contribution of yield components(i.e., spikes per hectare, grain number per spike and 1 000-grain weight) to wheat yield. Then, the limiting factors of yield components and the optimizing strategies were identified by a boundary line approach. The results showed that the attainable potential yield for winter wheat was 10 514 kg ha^–1. The yield gaps varied strongly between three yield groups(i.e., high, middle and low), which were divided by yield level and contained 44 farmers in each group, and amounted to 2 493, 1 636 and 814 kg ha^–1, respectively. For the three yield components, only spikes per hectare was significantly different(P<0.01) among the three yield groups. For all 132 farmers’ fields, correlation between yield and spikes per hectare(r=0.51, P<0.01), was significantly positive, while correlations with grain number per spike(r=–0.16) and 1 000-grain weight(r=–0.10) were not significant. The path analysis also showed that the spikes per hectare of winter wheat were the most important component to the wheat yield. Boundary line analysis showed that seeding date was the most limiting factor of spikes per hectare with the highest contribution rate(26.7%), followed by basal N input(22.1%) and seeding rate(14.5%), which indicated that management factors in the seeding step were the most important for affecting spikes per hectare. For desired spikes per hectare(>6.598×10^6 ha^–1),the seeding rate should range from 210–300 kg ha^–1, seeding date should range from 3th to 8th October, and basal N input should range from 90–180 kg ha^–1. Compared to these reasonable ranges of management measures, most of the farmers’ practices were not suitable, and both lower and higher levels of management existed. It is concluded that the strategies for optimizing yield components could be achieved by improving wheat seeding quality and optimizing farmers’ nutrient management practices in the NCP.

Developing sustainable summer maize production for smallholder farmers in the North China Plain: An agronomic diagnosis method

With an increasing population and changing diet structure, summer maize is increasingly becoming an important energy crop in China. However, traditional farmer practices for maize production are inefficient and unsustainable. To ensure food security and sustainable development of summer maize production in China, an improved, more sustainable farmer management system is needed. Establishing this system requires a comprehensive understanding of the limitations of current farming practice and the ways it could be improved. In our study, 235 plots from three villages in the North China Plain(NCP) were monitored. Maize production on farms was evaluated;our results showed that the maize yield and nitrogen partial factor productivity(PFPN) were variable on smallholder farms at 6.6–13.7 t ha^–1 and 15.4–88.7 kg kg^–1, respectively.Traditional farming practices also have a large environmental impact(nitrogen surplus:–64.2–323.78 kg ha^–1). Key yield components were identified by agronomic diagnosis. Grain yield depend heavily on grain numbers per hectare rather than on the 1 000-grain weight. A set of improved management practices(IP) for maize production was designed by employing a boundary line(BL) approach and tested on farms. Results showed that the IP could increase yield by 18.4% and PFPN by 31.1%, compared with traditional farmer practices(FP), and reduce the nitrogen(N) surplus by 57.9 kg ha^–1. However,in terms of IP effect, there was a large heterogeneity among different smallholder farmers’ fields, meaning that, precise technologies were needed in different sites especially for N fertilizer management. Our results are valuable for policymakers and smallholder farmers for meeting the objectives of green development in agricultural production.

Assessment of wheat variety distinctness using SSR markers

Assessment of variety distinctness is important for both the registration and the protection of particular variety. However, the current testing system, which assesses a range of morphological characters of each pair of varieties grown side-by-side, is time-consuming and is not suitable for the assessment of hundreds of samples. The objective of this study was to develop a procedure for the assessment of wheat variety distinctness using simple sequence repeat（SSR） markers. A comparison between the molecular and morphological profile of 797 varieties was made. On the basis of the comparison, pairs of varieties with a genetic similarity value（GSV） ≤90% were deemed to be distinct, accounting for ~85% of varieties assessed in wheat regional trials. For the remaining ~15% of varieties, GSVs between different varieties were 〉90%, among which ~35% were not distinct and the other ~65% were distinct. Therefore, if given a GSV〉90%, the pairs of varieties should be morphologically assessed in the field. To avoid any errors in the assessments, we proposed the elimination of contaminant plants from the sample before comparing the varietal genotypes, scoring of the genotype at each locus with a pair of allele numbers when constructing a molecular profile, and faithfully recording two alleles at a non-homozygous locus. To reduce the workload and cost, a three-grade markers comparison among varieties is suggested. In addition, 80 SSR markers and a technical procedure for assessment of wheat variety distinctness have been proposed. Based on the procedure, the distinctness assessment of ~85% of all wheat varieties is completed in our laboratory annually. Consequently, total field assessment has been reduced considerably.

Genomic analysis,trajectory tracking,and field surveys reveal sources and long-distance dispersal routes of wheat stripe rust pathogen in China

Identifying sources of phytopathogen inoculum and determining their contributions to disease outbreaks are essential for predicting disease development and establishing control strategies.Puccinia striiformis f.sp.tritici(Pst),the causal agent of wheat stripe rust,is an airborne fungal pathogen with rapid virulence variation that threatens wheat production through its long-distance migration.Because of wide variation in geographic features,climatic conditions,and wheat production systems,Pst sources and related dispersal routes in China are largely unclear.In the present study,we performed genomic analyses of 154 Pst isolates from all major wheat-growing regions in China to determine Pst population structure and diversity.Through trajectory tracking,historical migration studies,genetic introgression analyses,and field surveys,we investigated Pst sources and their contributions to wheat stripe rust epidemics.We identified Longnan,the Himalayan region,and the Guizhou Plateau,which contain the highest population genetic diversities,as the Pst sources in China.Pst from Longnan disseminates mainly to eastern Liupan Mountain,the Sichuan Basin,and eastern Qinghai;that from the Himalayan region spreads mainly to the Sichuan Basin and eastern Qinghai;and that from the Guizhou Plateau migrates mainly to the Sichuan Basin and the Central Plain.These findings improve our current understanding of wheat stripe rust epidemics in China and emphasize the need for managing stripe rust on a national scale.

Nmnoparticle-mediated double-stranded RNA delivery system: A promising approach for sustainable pest management

RNA interference(RNAi)targeting lethal genes in insects has great potential for sustainable crop protection.Compared with traditional double-stranded(ds)RNA delivery systems,nanoparticles such as chitosan,liposomes,and cationic dendrimers offer advantages in delivering dsRNA/small interfering(si)RNA to improve RNAi efficiency,thus promoting the development and practice of RNAi-based pest management strategies.Here,we illustrate the limitations of traditional dsRNA delivery systems,reveal the mechanism of nanoparticle-mediated RNAi,summarize the recent progress and successful applications of nanoparticle-mediated RNAi in pest management,and finally address the prospects of nanoparticle-based RNA pesticides.

Comparison of thermal and light performance in two typical Chinese solar greenhouses in Beijing

Solar greenhouses have been used for producing vegetables in northern China during early spring,late autumn or over-winter.To improve the thermal performance of solar greenhouses,a traditional type and a retrofitted design were comparatively evaluated.In the retrofitted design,three adjustments were incorporated:the material and structure of the walls,south-facing roof angle,and structure of the north-facing back-roof.The results indicated that the thermal and light performance of the retrofitted greenhouse was much better than that of the traditional greenhouse.Specifically,the daily mean temperature,minimum air temperature,and soil temperature inside the greenhouses after retrofit ting were increased by 1.3,2.4,and 1.9℃,respectively,meanwhile,the daily total solar radiation and PAR were increased by 28.2%and 9.2%,respectively.The wall temperature and its daily variation range were reduced with increasing depth and height.The characteristic analysis of heat storage and release indicated that higher locations have longer heat storage,and shorter heat release time in vertical direction,as well as a lower ratio of heat release to storage.In horizontal direction,the western wall has the shortest heat storage time but the highest heat release flux density.Altogether,the heat storage time of the wall is 1.5 h less than that of the soil.The heat storage flux density of the wall is 1.5 times of that of the soil,but the heat release flux is only 61%of the soil’s value.The total wall heat storage is half of that of the soil in the greenhouse;the total wall heat release amount is only a quarter of that of the soil.Therefore,the thermal environment of solar greenhouses can be further improved by improving the thermal insulation properties of the wall.

Detection of Huanglongbing(citrus greening) based on hyperspectral image analysis and PCR

Huanglongbing (HLB, citrus greening) is one of the most serious quarantine diseases of citrus worldwide. To monitor in real-time, recognize diseased trees, and efficiently prevent and control HLB disease in citrus, it is necessary to develop a rapid diagnostic method to detect HLB infected plants without symptoms. This study used Newhall navel orange plants as the research subject, and collected normal color leaf samples and chlorotic leaf samples from a healthy orchard and an HLB-infected orchard, respectively. First, hyperspectral data of the upper and lower leaf surfaces were obtained, and then the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the HLB bacterium in each leaf. The PCR test results showed that all samples from the healthy orchard were negative, and a portion of the samples from the infected orchard were positive. According to these results, the leaf samples from the orchards were divided into disease-free leaves and HLB-positive leaves, and the least squares support vector machine recognition model was established based on the leaf hyperspectral reflectance. The effect on the model of the spectra obtained from the upper and lower leaf surfaces was investigated and different pretreatment methods were compared and analyzed. It was observed that the HLB recognition rate values of the calibration and validation sets based on upper leaf surface spectra under 9-point smoothing pretreatment were 100% and 92.5%, respectively. The recognition rate values based on lower leaf surface spectra under the second-order derivative pretreatment were also 100% and 92.5%, respectively. Both upper and lower leaf surface spectra were available for recognition of HLB-infected leaves, and the HLB PCR-positive leaves could be distinguished from the healthy by the hyperspectral modeling analysis. The results of this study show that early and nondestructive detection of HLBinfected leaves without symptoms is possible, which provides a basis for the hyperspectral diagnosis of citrus with HLB.

Improved root zone temperature buffer capacity enhancing sweet pepper yield via soil-ridged substrate-embedded cultivation in solar greenhouse

A novel soilless cultivation method,called as soil-ridged substrate-embedded cultivation(SSC)was invented,and an experiment was designed to investigate root zone temperature and production efficiency of sweet pepper cultivated by two SSC patterns,i.e.,SSC-P(polyethylene groove inserted)and SSC-W(wire-mesh groove inserted),and also other two cultivation methods,i.e.,soil ridge(SR)and naked polyethylene groove(PG).Results showed that PG,SSC-P and SSC-W increased the average minimal root zone temperature by 1.01℃,0.75℃,and 1.16℃ compared to SR(16.33℃)during March 16-20,2015.During June 1-5,SSC-P and SSC-W decreased the average maximal root zone temperature by 1.28℃ and 1.29℃ compared to SR(34.99℃),while PG increased it by 1.44℃.PG,SSC-P,and SSC-W decreased the differences of average daytime and night time temperatures by 1.34℃,2.13℃,and 2.88℃ compared to SR(4.56℃)during early stage.However,SSC-P and SSC-W decreased temperature differences of average daytime and night time by 0.9℃ and 1.07℃ compared to SR(0.95℃)during later stage,but PG improved by 2.85℃.Temperature difference of daytime and night time of SSC-W was minimal,and the temperature difference between the diurnal highest and the lowest temperature of SSC-W was also minimal.The buffer capacity of SSC-W was slightly better than that of SSC-P.SSC-W significantly improved the growth of sweet pepper compared to SR.Similarly,fruit yield per square meter of sweet pepper cultivated on SSC-P and SSC-W improved by 21.24%and 50.33%,respectively compared to SR(3.06 kg/m^(2)),while PG lowered the yield by 13.72%.SSC-W was a better SSC pattern compared with SSC-P in terms of production efficiency.

Daily expression of two circadian clock genes in compound eyes of Helicoverpa armigera: evidence for peripheral tissue circadian timing

Circadian clock genes in peripheral tissues usually play an important role in regulating the circadian rhythms. Light is the most important environmental signal for synchronizing endogenous rhythms with the daily light-dark cycle, and compound eyes are known as the principal circadian photoreceptor for photic entrainment in most moths. However, there is little evidence for circadian timing in compound eyes. In the current study, we isolated the timeless gene, designated Ha-tim (GenBank accession number: KM233162), from the cotton bo 11 worm Helicoverpa armigera. Ha-tim and period (Haper) showed low messenger RNA levels in the compound eyes compared to the other tested adult organs. Ha-tim and Ha-per transcript levels were dependent on an endogenous rhythm that fluctuated over a daily cycle in the compound eyes and heads. The cycles of Hatim and Ha-per transcript levels followed similar time courses, and identical expression patterns of the two genes were observed in the compound eyes and heads. Ha-tim and Ha-per were dowregulated in the compound eyes after light exposure, copulation and starvation. These results indicated that Ha-tim and Ha-per transcript levels were regulated by endogenous and exogenous factors. Our study helped to improve our understanding of the circadian clock machinery in compound eyes and other peripheral tissues.