Perkinsaycock2857

Seed production in control treatment was positively influenced by the population size, average monthly precipitation in June and visits of hoverflies, while visits of honeybees, average monthly temperature in September, and average monthly precipitation in August influenced seed production negatively. As generalist plant P. caeruleum can be pollinated by diverse insect groups, however, in small populations their main visitors, the honeybees and bumblebees, may be less attracted, eventually leading to the disappearance of these populations. In pollination of P. caeruleum managed honeybees may play a dual role while they are the most frequent and efficient flower visitors, their presence decreases seed set in open-pollinated flowers, which is most probably related to efficient pollen collection by these insects.Due to the climate change and an increased frequency of drought, it is of enormous importance to identify and to develop traits that result in adaptation and in improvement of crop yield stability in drought-prone regions with low rainfall. Early vigour, defined as the rapid development of leaf area in early developmental stages, is reported to contribute to stronger plant vitality, which, in turn, can enhance resilience to erratic drought periods. Furthermore, early vigour improves weed competitiveness and nutrient uptake. Here, two sets of a multi-reference nested association mapping (MR-NAM) population of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum ssp. aestivum L.) were used to investigate early vigour in a rain-fed field environment for 3 years, and additionally assessed under controlled conditions in a greenhouse experiment. The normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) calculated from red/infrared light reflectance was used to quantify early vigour in the field, revealing a correlation (p less then 0.05; r = 0.39) between the spectral measurement and the length of the second leaf. Under controlled environmental conditions, the measured projected leaf area, using a green-pixel counter, was also correlated to the leaf area of the second leaf (p less then 0.05; r = 0.38), as well as to the recorded biomass (p less then 0.01; r = 0.71). Subsequently, genetic determination of early vigour was tested by conducting a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for the proxy traits, revealing 42 markers associated with vegetation index and two markers associated with projected leaf area. There are several quantitative trait loci that are collocated with loci for plant developmental traits including plant height on chromosome 2D (log10 (P) = 3.19; PVE = 0.035), coleoptile length on chromosome 1B (-log10 (P) = 3.24; PVE = 0.112), as well as stay-green and vernalisation on chromosome 5A (-log10 (P) = 3.14; PVE = 0.115).Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the most important legume for direct human consumption worldwide. It is a rich and relatively inexpensive source of proteins and micronutrients, especially iron and zinc. Bean is a target for biofortification to develop new cultivars with high Fe/Zn levels that help to ameliorate malnutrition mainly in developing countries. A strong negative phenotypic correlation between Fe/Zn concentration and yield is usually reported, posing a significant challenge for breeders. The objective of this study was to investigate the genetic relationship between Fe/Zn. We used Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) mapping and Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) analysis in three bi-parental populations that included biofortified parents, identifying genomic regions associated with yield and micromineral accumulation. Significant negative correlations were observed between agronomic traits (pod harvest index, PHI; pod number, PdN; seed number, SdN; 100 seed weight, 100SdW; and seed per pod, Sd/Pd) and micronutrient concentration traits (SdFe and SdZn), especially between pod harvest index (PHI) and SdFe and SdZn. PHI presented a higher correlation with SdN than PdN. Seventy-nine QTLs were identified for the three populations 14 for SdFe, 12 for SdZn, 13 for PHI, 11 for SdN, 14 for PdN, 6 for 100SdW, and 9 for Sd/Pd. Twenty-three hotspot regions were identified in which several QTLs were co-located, of which 13 hotpots displayed QTL of opposite effect for yield components and Fe/Zn accumulation. In contrast, eight QTLs for SdFe and six QTLs for SdZn were observed that segregated independently of QTL of yield components. The selection of these QTLs will enable enhanced levels of Fe/Zn and will not affect the yield performance of new cultivars focused on biofortification.Chestnut cultivation for nut production is increasing in the eastern half of the United States. Chinese chestnuts (Castanea mollissima Blume), or Chinese hybrids with European (C. sativa Mill.) and Japanese chestnuts (C. crenata Sieb. & Zucc.), are cultivated due to their high kernel quality, climatic adaptation, and disease resistance. Several hundred thousand pounds of high-quality fresh nuts are taken to market every fall, and several hundred additional orchards are entering bearing years. Grower-led on-farm improvement has largely facilitated this growth. A lack of significant investments in chestnut breeding in the region, paired with issues of graft incompatibility, has led many growers to cultivate seedlings of cultivars rather than grafted cultivars. After decades of evaluation, selection, and sharing of plant materials, growers have reached a threshold of improvement where commercial seedling orchards can be reliably established by planting offspring from elite selected parents. Growers recognize that if cooperation persists and university expertise and resources are enlisted, improvement can continue and accelerate. To this end, the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry (UMCA) and chestnut growers throughout the eastern United States are partnering to formalize a participatory breeding program - the Chestnut Improvement Network. This partnership entails the UMCA providing an organizational structure and leadership to coordinate on-farm improvement, implement strategic crossing schemes, and integrate genetic tools. Chestnut growers offer structural capacity by cultivating seedling production orchards that provide financial support for the grower but also house segregating populations with improved individuals, in situ repositories, and selection trials, creating great value for the industry.Both the temperate-humid zone and the southern part of the Mediterranean climate region of Chile are characterized by high wheat productivity. Study objectives were to analyze the yield potential, yield progress, and genetic progress of the winter bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars and changes in agronomic and morphophysiological traits during the past 60 years. Thus, two field experiments (a) yield potential and (b) yield genetic progress trials were conducted in high-yielding environments of central-southern Chile during the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasons. CID-1067700 order In addition, yield progress was analyzed using yield historical data of a high-yielding environment from 1957 to 2017. Potential yield trials showed that, at the most favorable sites, grain yield reached ∼20.46 Mg ha-1. The prolonged growing and grain filling period, mild temperatures in December-January, ample water availability, and favorable soil conditions explain this high-potential yield. Yield progress analysis indicated that average graeristics of green biomass after the booting stage. Contrary, a positive correlation was detected for intercepted PAR from heading to maturity, which could be due to a stay-green mechanism, supported by the trend of positive correlations of Chlorophyll content with the year of cultivar release.Wider pea (Pisum sativum L.) cultivation has great interest for European agriculture, owing to its favorable environmental impact and provision of high-protein feedstuff. This work aimed to investigate the extent of genotype × environment interaction (GEI), genetically based trade-offs and polygenic control for crude protein content and grain yield of pea targeted to Italian environments, and to assess the efficiency of genomic selection (GS) as an alternative to phenotypic selection (PS) to increase protein yield per unit area. Some 306 genotypes belonging to three connected recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations derived from paired crosses between elite cultivars were genotyped through genotyping-by-sequencing and phenotyped for grain yield and protein content on a dry matter basis in three autumn-sown environments of northern or central Italy. Line variation for mean protein content ranged from 21.7 to 26.6%. Purely genetic effects, compared with GEI effects, were over two-fold larger for protein content RIL population and, in case of multi-year PS, even for model training based on data of a non-target population. In conclusion, protein content is less challenging than grain yield for phenotypic or genome-enabled improvement, and GS is promising for the simultaneous improvement of both traits.Multiple ecological processes simultaneously govern community assembly, but it remains unclear how abiotic stressors regulate the relative importance of these processes among different biogeographic regions. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive study on the responses of community assembly to varying environmental gradients, using the mean, variance, skewness, and kurtosis of plant height (height), specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) distributions on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and the Mongolian Plateau (MP). Our results showed that the prevalence of trait convergence across all grasslands in both TP and MP seem to be the result of abiotic filtering or weaker competitive exclusion etc. These trait-convergence assembly processes decrease the functional dispersion but increase the evenness of the trait frequency distribution. The mean, variance, skewness, and kurtosis responses of grassland communities to abiotic stress varied between the TP and MP. On average, plant trait distribution was mainly driven by temperature on the TP, and low-temperature stress altered the community assembly rules. In contrast, water availability shaped plant trait frequency distributions on the MP, and drought stress mediated the balance between different assembly processes. Our results provide empirical evidence that divergent abiotic stressors regulate the grassland community assembly on the TP and MP. Together, our study speculates that different aspects of future climate change, such as climate warming and changing precipitation patterns, on community assembly are dependent on regional climatic regimes.Matching flowering time to the optimal flowering period in Mediterranean cropping zones is pivotal to maximize yield. Aside from variety selection and sowing date, growers have limited options to alter development in season. Plant hormones and growth regulators are used in perennial horticultural systems to manipulate development and floral initiation. In this study, a range of plant hormonal products were tested to analyze their effects on barley (Hordeum vulgare L) development by exogenous spray applications. Plants were grown in controlled conditions under long and short photoperiods with different vernalization treatments. The gibberellin (GA) products demonstrated the greatest potential for altering development. The GA inhibitor trinexapac-ethyl was able to delay the time to flowering in genetically divergent barley cultivars by up to 200 degree days under controlled conditions. A similar delay in flowering could be achieved via application at both early (GS13) and late (GS33) stages, with higher rates delaying flowering further.