Abstract
Summary Experiments with wheat describing the effects of crop thinning on grain yield and its components are presented. These were carried out over 5 years in northwest Mexico, using a high-yielding dwarf spring-wheat variety ( Triticum aestivum cv. ‘Yecora 70’) grown under irrigation and high fertility. It was shown that thinning largely relieved competition for light, thus increasing photosynthate levels in the plants remaining after thinning. The objective was to evaluate this simple technique as a guide to understanding when grain yield and its components were determined and, in particular, the extent to which post-anthesis photosynthate supply limited yield. There were major responses in grain yield with thinning between about 50 and 100 days after seeding, and in number of spikes and of grains with thinning between 50 and 90 days (50% anthesis was reached at 87 days). Number of spikelets per spike showed small responses to early thinning (before 50 days). Number of grains/spikelet and kernel weight snowed positive responses to thinning between 65 and 90 days, and 90 and 115 days, respectively. These results agreed with adjacent shading and CO 2 fertilization studies but, because of certain difficulties in interpretation of responses, pre-anthesis thinning was not considered a very useful technique. Anthesis thinning was carried out on 21 separate crops: the kernel weight increase relative to the unthinned control ranged from 6 to 41%, averaging 20%. Anthesis thinning led to increases in stem weight during the first half of the grain filling period, followed by increases in grain growth rate in the latter half. The increase in final kernel weight was greater with higher temperature and lower radiation during grain filling; these variables explained 64% of the variation in kernel weight response. It is suggested that the kernel weight response does indicate the degree of photosynthate limitation during grain filling, showing reasonable agreement with adjacent shading and CO 2 fertilization studies. It was concluded that anthesis thinning, because of its relative simplicity, is a useful technique. Implications for yield improvement in Yecora of the results provided by this technique are discussed.
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Claims 14
Claim · model-written summary
Thinning relieved competition for light in wheat.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivumt0 - Treatment
- thinninge0
- Outcome
- competition for lighte0
- Direction
- relievede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“thinning largely relieved competition for light”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Thinning increased photosynthate levels in remaining wheat plants.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Treatment
- thinninge0
- Outcome
- photosynthate levelse0
- Direction
- increasinge0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“thus increasing photosynthate levels in the plants remaining after thinning”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Wheat grain yield responded strongly to thinning at about 50 to 100 days after seeding.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Treatment
- thinning between about 50 and 100 days after seedinge0
- Outcome
- grain yielde0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“There were major responses in grain yield with thinning between about 50 and 100 days after seeding”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Wheat spike number and grain number responded strongly to thinning between 50 and 90 days.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Treatment
- thinning between 50 and 90 dayse0
- Outcome
- number of spikes and of grainse0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“in number of spikes and of grains with thinning between 50 and 90 days”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Spikelets per spike responded only slightly to thinning before 50 days.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Treatment
- early thinning (before 50 days)e0
- Outcome
- Number of spikelets per spikee0
- Qualifier
- small responsese0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Number of spikelets per spike showed small responses to early thinning (before 50 days)”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Wheat grains per spikelet increased with thinning between 65 and 90 days.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Treatment
- thinning between 65 and 90 dayse0
- Outcome
- Number of grains/spikelete0
- Direction
- positive responsese0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Number of grains/spikelet and kernel weight snowed positive responses to thinning between 65 and 90 days, and 90 and 115 days, respectively”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Wheat kernel weight increased with thinning between 90 and 115 days.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Treatment
- thinninge0
- Outcome
- kernel weighte0
- Direction
- positive responsese0
- Qualifier
- 90 and 115 dayse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Number of grains/spikelet and kernel weight snowed positive responses to thinning between 65 and 90 days, and 90 and 115 days, respectively”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Anthesis thinning raised wheat kernel weight by 6 to 41%, averaging 20%, against unthinned controls.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Treatment
- Anthesis thinninge0
- Outcome
- kernel weighte0
- Direction
- increasee0
- Value
- 6 to 41%e0
- Qualifier
- averaging 20%e0
- Comparator
- unthinned controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Anthesis thinning was carried out on 21 separate crops: the kernel weight increase relative to the unthinned control ranged from 6 to 41%, averaging 20%”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Anthesis thinning increased wheat stem weight in the first half of grain filling.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Treatment
- Anthesis thinninge0
- Outcome
- stem weighte0
- Direction
- increasese0
- Qualifier
- during the first half of the grain filling periode0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Anthesis thinning led to increases in stem weight during the first half of the grain filling period”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Anthesis thinning increased wheat grain growth rate in the latter half of grain filling.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Treatment
- Anthesis thinninge0
- Outcome
- grain growth ratee0
- Direction
- increasese0
- Qualifier
- in the latter halfe0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Anthesis thinning led to increases in stem weight during the first half of the grain filling period, followed by increases in grain growth rate in the latter half”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
The kernel weight response to anthesis thinning was greater with higher grain-filling temperature.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Organ / stage
- grain fillinge0
- Outcome
- increase in final kernel weighte0
- Direction
- greatere0
- Qualifier
- higher temperaturee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The increase in final kernel weight was greater with higher temperature and lower radiation during grain filling; these variables explained 64% of the variation in kernel weight response”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
The kernel weight response to anthesis thinning was greater with lower grain-filling radiation.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Organ / stage
- grain fillinge0
- Outcome
- increase in final kernel weighte0
- Direction
- greatere0
- Qualifier
- lower radiatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The increase in final kernel weight was greater with higher temperature and lower radiation during grain filling; these variables explained 64% of the variation in kernel weight response”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Temperature and radiation explained 64% of variation in the wheat kernel weight response.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Outcome
- variation in kernel weight responsee0
- Value
- 64%e0
- Qualifier
- these variablese0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“these variables explained 64% of the variation in kernel weight response”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors consider anthesis thinning a useful technique.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Outcome
- anthesis thinning, because of its relative simplicity, is a useful techniquee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“It was concluded that anthesis thinning, because of its relative simplicity, is a useful technique”
t0“wheat”
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See all 93 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.