Global Maize Program, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center-CIMMYT, Mexico D.F., Mexico.
J Integr Plant Biol. 2012 Dec;54(12):1007-20. doi: 10.1111/j.1744-7909.2012.01156.x.
To increase maize (Zea mays L.) yields in drought-prone environments and offset predicted maize yield losses under future climates, the development of improved breeding pipelines using a multi-disciplinary approach is essential. Elucidating key growth processes will provide opportunities to improve drought breeding progress through the identification of key phenotypic traits, ideotypes, and donors. In this study, we tested a large set of tropical and subtropical maize inbreds and single cross hybrids under reproductive stage drought stress and well-watered conditions. Patterns of biomass production, senescence, and plant water status were measured throughout the crop cycle. Under drought stress, early biomass production prior to anthesis was important for inbred yield, while delayed senescence was important for hybrid yield. Under well-watered conditions, the ability to maintain a high biomass throughout the growing cycle was crucial for inbred yield, while a stay-green pattern was important for hybrid yield. While new quantitative phenotyping tools such as spectral reflectance (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI) allowed for the characterization of growth and senescence patterns as well as yield, qualitative measurements of canopy senescence were also found to be associated with grain yield.
为了在易受干旱影响的环境中提高玉米（Zea mays L.）的产量，并弥补未来气候下预计的玉米产量损失，必须采用多学科方法开发改良的育种途径。阐明关键的生长过程将为通过鉴定关键的表型特征、理想型和供体来提高耐旱性育种进展提供机会。在这项研究中，我们在生殖期干旱胁迫和充分供水条件下测试了一大组热带和亚热带玉米自交系和单交杂种。在整个作物周期中测量了生物量生产、衰老和植物水分状况的模式。在干旱胁迫下，开花前早期的生物量生产对自交系的产量很重要，而延迟衰老对杂交种的产量很重要。在充分供水条件下，在整个生长周期内保持高生物量的能力对自交系的产量至关重要，而保持绿色的模式对杂交种的产量很重要。虽然新的定量表型工具（如光谱反射率（归一化差异植被指数，NDVI））可以用于描述生长和衰老模式以及产量，但也发现冠层衰老的定性测量与粒产量有关。
