Adaptive responses of wild mungbean (Vigna radiata ssp. sublobata) to photo-thermal environment. I.* Phenology
G. J. Rebetzke A and R. J. Lawn B CA School of Land and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia. Present address: CSIRO Plant Industry, PO Box 1600, Canberra, ACT 260, Australia.
B School of Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811, and CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Davies Laboratory, Townsville, Qld 4814, Australia.
C Corresponding author. Email: robert.lawn@jcu.edu.au
Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 57(8) 917-928 https://doi.org/10.1071/AR05357
Submitted: 11 October 2005 Accepted: 27 March 2006 Published: 9 August 2006
Abstract
The phenology of 11 diverse accessions of wild mungbean was observed under natural and artificial photoperiod–temperature conditions, in order to examine whether genotypic differences might be attributed to adaptive responses to photo-thermal conditions. There was large variation in phenological response among accessions and across environments, much of which was due to differences in the duration of the pre-flowering phase. Accessions that flowered earlier tended to flower for longer, apart from 2 earlier flowering, inland Australian lines that were also earlier maturing. The patterns of response in time from sowing to flowering over environment were consistent with quantitative short-day photoperiodic adaptation, a conclusion supported by the effects of artificial day-length extension and by ‘goodness of fit’ of the observed responses to standard models relating rate of development to photoperiod and temperature. The fitted models indicated that rate of development towards flowering was hastened by warmer temperatures, and delayed by longer day lengths, with differential sensitivity between accessions to both factors. The models also suggested that photoperiod was more important for accessions collected closer to the equator, which were generally later flowering as a consequence. Conversely, temperature was relatively more important in lines from higher latitudes. Modelling also suggested that the period from first flowering to maturity was sensitive to photoperiod and temperature. Again, longer days appeared to prolong growth and delay maturity. However, cooler temperatures accelerated rather than slowed maturity, by suppressing further vegetative growth. The variation observed indicated that there is considerable scope for using the wild population to broaden the adaptation of cultivated mungbean. In particular, the unusual response of a late-flowering, photoperiod-insensitive accession warrants further study to establish whether the wild population contains a unique ‘long juvenile’ trait analogous to that being used for improving phenological adaptation in soybean.
Additional keywords: germplasm resources, cultivar improvement.
Acknowledgments
The research reported here was supported in part by the Grains Research and Development Corporation, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, and the CSIRO. It comprises research undertaken as part of the requirements for a MAgrSc degree awarded to GJR by the University of Queensland.
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