Abstract
Abstract Water stress during silking or early kernel development decreases the number of kernels set by corn ( Zea mays L.) plants. Previous work has suggested that lack of assimilate supply due to water stress at silking was a major factor in the resulting reproductive failure. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that sucrose supplementation of water stressed corn plants can prevent decreased kernel set. Sucrose was injected into corn stems at three concentrations [0 (distilled water), 150 and 300 g L −1 ] for 30 days starting at silking. Water availability was controlled by either maintaining a water table at 50 cm from the soil surface (well watered) or by withholding water starting one week before silking (water stress) until the fifth day after silking. The photosynthesis rate of water stressed plants was 25% that of well‐water plants on the first day of silking. On average, the daily injection rate for distilled water was 1 mL higher than that of the sucrose treatments over a 30 day injection period. No difference in daily uptake rate was observed between the 150 and 300 g sucrose L −1 treatments. Over water availability treatments approximately 17 g sucrose were injected into corn plants during the 30 day injection period. Corn plants receiving sufficient water supply produced bigger ears, with more seeds and greater 100‐seed weight values, leading to higher total plant dry matter accumulation than water stressed plants. Injection of 300 g sucrose L −1 increased the weight of the injected internodes by 28%, compared with distilled water injection. The highest grain yield was for the plants injected with 150 g sucrose L −1 , but only under sufficient water supply. The plants injected with 300 g sucrose L −1 produced the least grain regardless of moisture availability. Thus, the exogenous sucrose supplementation influenced kernel set only under conditions of sufficient soil water supply. These results indicate that plant reproductive development after silking was limited more by water availability than assimilate supply, suggesting that some overall plant response to water stress, perhaps mediated by hormonal signalling, was more important than carbohydrate supply. These results indicated that plant desiccation occurred during floral development or pollination; irreversible loss of florets on unsuccessful pollination could result, thus, grain yield would be limited more by sink size than by availability of photosynthate.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
Photosynthesis rate of water-stressed corn plants was 25% that of well-watered plants on the first day of silking.
- Taxon
- Corn
Zea mays subsp. mayst0 - Treatment
- water stressede0
- Outcome
- photosynthesis ratee0
- Direction
- lowerinferrede0
- Value
- 25%e0
- Comparator
- well‐water plantse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Water Stressed Corn Plants”
e0“The photosynthesis rate of water stressed plants was 25% that of well‐water plants on the first day of silking”
Claim · model-written summary
Corn plants with sufficient water supply produced bigger ears, more seeds and greater 100-seed weight than water-stressed plants.
- Taxon
- CornZea mays subsp. mayse0
- Treatment
- sufficient water supplye0
- Outcome
- bigger ears, with more seeds and greater 100‐seed weight valuese0
- Direction
- biggere0
- Comparator
- water stressed plantse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Corn plants receiving sufficient water supply produced bigger ears, with more seeds and greater 100‐seed weight values, leading to higher total plant dry matter accumulation than water stressed plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Corn plants with sufficient water supply accumulated higher total plant dry matter than water-stressed plants.
- Taxon
- CornZea mays subsp. mayse0
- Treatment
- sufficient water supplye0
- Outcome
- total plant dry matter accumulatione0
- Direction
- highere0
- Comparator
- water stressed plantse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Corn plants receiving sufficient water supply produced bigger ears, with more seeds and greater 100‐seed weight values, leading to higher total plant dry matter accumulation than water stressed plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Injection of 300 g sucrose per litre increased the weight of the injected internodes by 28% compared with distilled water injection.
- Taxon
- CornZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Organ / stage
- internodese0
- Treatment
- Injection of 300 g sucrose L −1e0
- Outcome
- weight of the injected internodese0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 28%e0
- Comparator
- distilled water injectione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Water Stressed Corn Plants”
e0“Injection of 300 g sucrose L −1 increased the weight of the injected internodes by 28%, compared with distilled water injection”
Claim · model-written summary
Grain yield was highest in plants injected with 150 g sucrose per litre, but only under sufficient water supply.
- Taxon
- CornZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Treatment
- 150 g sucrose L −1e0
- Outcome
- grain yielde0
- Direction
- higheste0
- Qualifier
- only under sufficient water supplye0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Water Stressed Corn Plants”
e0“The highest grain yield was for the plants injected with 150 g sucrose L −1 , but only under sufficient water supply”
Claim · model-written summary
Plants injected with 300 g sucrose per litre produced the least grain regardless of moisture availability.
- Taxon
- CornZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Treatment
- 300 g sucrose L −1e0
- Outcome
- graine0
- Direction
- leaste0
- Qualifier
- regardless of moisture availabilitye0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Water Stressed Corn Plants”
e0“The plants injected with 300 g sucrose L −1 produced the least grain regardless of moisture availability”
Claim · model-written summary
The daily injection rate was 1 mL higher for distilled water than for the sucrose treatments over the 30-day injection period.
- Taxon
- CornZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Treatment
- distilled watere0
- Outcome
- daily injection ratee0
- Direction
- highere0
- Value
- 1 mLe0
- Comparator
- sucrose treatmentse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Water Stressed Corn Plants”
e0“the daily injection rate for distilled water was 1 mL higher than that of the sucrose treatments over a 30 day injection period”
Claim · model-written summary
No difference in daily uptake rate was observed between the 150 and 300 g sucrose per litre treatments.
- Taxon
- CornZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Treatment
- 150 and 300 g sucrose L −1 treatmentse0
- Outcome
- daily uptake ratee0
- Direction
- No differencee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Water Stressed Corn Plants”
e0“No difference in daily uptake rate was observed between the 150 and 300 g sucrose L −1 treatments”
Claim · model-written summary
Sucrose supplementation influenced kernel set only under sufficient soil water supply.
- Taxon
- CornZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Treatment
- exogenous sucrose supplementatione0
- Outcome
- kernel sete0
- Qualifier
- only under conditions of sufficient soil water supplye0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Water Stressed Corn Plants”
e0“the exogenous sucrose supplementation influenced kernel set only under conditions of sufficient soil water supply”
Claim · model-written summary
Plant reproductive development after silking was limited more by water availability than by assimilate supply, possibly via hormonal signalling.
- Taxon
- CornZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Treatment
- water availabilitye0
- Outcome
- plant reproductive development after silkinge0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Water Stressed Corn Plants”
e0“plant reproductive development after silking was limited more by water availability than assimilate supply”
Claim · model-written summary
Grain yield would be limited more by sink size than by availability of photosynthate.
- Taxon
- CornZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Outcome
- grain yielde0
- Qualifier
- limited more by sink size than by availability of photosynthatee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Water Stressed Corn Plants”
e0“grain yield would be limited more by sink size than by availability of photosynthate”
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