Post-Silking Shading Stress Affects Leaf Nitrogen Metabolism of Spring Maize in Southern China
1
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Co-Innovation Center for Modern Production Technology of Grain Crops/Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of the Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
2
Agricultural College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Plants 2020, 9(2), 210; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9020210
Received: 3 January 2020
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Revised: 21 January 2020
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Accepted: 4 February 2020
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Published: 6 February 2020
(This article belongs to the Section Plant Response to Abiotic Stress and Climate Change)
Lower sunlight caused by overcast skies from June to July in Southern China is one of the main environmental stresses that frequently occur and affect the post-silking growth and grain development of spring maize. In this study, a field trial involving four maize hybrids as materials was conducted to investigate the effects of post-silking shading stress (30% and 50% light deprivation) on leaf nitrogen metabolism and biomass accumulation during maize growing seasons in 2016 and 2017. Results indicated that 30% and 50% shading stress caused the grain yield to decrease by 47.3% and 69.6%, respectively. Plant post-silking biomass accumulation was decreased by shading, whereas the translocation from pre-silking assimilates in the vegetative organs was increased by shading. This change was sharply observed when the plants were deprived of more sunlight intensity. The leaf relative chlorophyll (soil and plant analyzer development (SPAD) value) and soluble protein contents were considerably decreased by shading under 50% light deprivation condition. The activities of nitrate reductase, glutamine synthetase and glutamate synthase that are involved in nitrogen metabolism were downregulated by shading stresses. In conclusion, nitrogen metabolism was disturbed by shading, which induced the decrease in post-silking dry matter accumulation, ultimately resulting in grain yield loss.
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Keywords:
shading; nitrogen metabolism; dry matter; grain yield; maize; SPAD
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MDPI and ACS Style
Wang, J.; Shi, K.; Lu, W.; Lu, D. Post-Silking Shading Stress Affects Leaf Nitrogen Metabolism of Spring Maize in Southern China. Plants 2020, 9, 210. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9020210
AMA Style
Wang J, Shi K, Lu W, Lu D. Post-Silking Shading Stress Affects Leaf Nitrogen Metabolism of Spring Maize in Southern China. Plants. 2020; 9(2):210. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9020210
Chicago/Turabian StyleWang, Jue, Kai Shi, Weiping Lu, and Dalei Lu. 2020. "Post-Silking Shading Stress Affects Leaf Nitrogen Metabolism of Spring Maize in Southern China" Plants 9, no. 2: 210. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9020210
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