Phenotyping novel stay-green traits to capture genetic variation in senescence dynamics
John T. Christopher A F , Mathieu Veyradier B , Andrew K. Borrell C , Greg Harvey D , Susan Fletcher D and Karine Chenu E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A The University of Queensland, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), Leslie Research Facility, PO Box 2282, Toowoomba, Qld 4350, Australia.
B Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Queensland (DAFF), 203 Tor St., Toowoomba, Qld 4350, Australia.
C The University of Queensland, QAAFI, Hermitage Research Facility, MS 508, Warwick, Qld 4370, Australia.
D DAFF, Leslie Research Facility, PO Box 2282, Toowoomba, Qld 4350, Australia.
E The University of Queensland, QAAFI, 203 Tor St., Toowoomba, Qld 4350, Australia.
F Corresponding author. Email: j.christopher@uq.edu.au
This paper originates from a presentation at the Interdrought IV Conference, Perth, Australia, 2–6 September 2013.
Functional Plant Biology 41(11) 1035-1048 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP14052
Submitted: 18 February 2014 Accepted: 17 June 2014 Published: 19 August 2014
Abstract
Stay-green plants retain green leaves longer after anthesis and can have improved yield, particularly under water limitation. As senescence is a dynamic process, genotypes with different senescence patterns may exhibit similar final normalised difference vegetative index (NDVI). By monitoring NDVI from as early as awn emergence to maturity, we demonstrate that analysing senescence dynamics improves insight into genotypic stay-green variation. A senescence evaluation tool was developed to fit a logistic function to NDVI data and used to analyse data from three environments for a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) population whose lines contrast for stay-green. Key stay-green traits were estimated including, maximum NDVI, senescence rate and a trait integrating NDVI variation after anthesis, as well as the timing from anthesis to onset, midpoint and conclusion of senescence. The integrative trait and the timing to onset and mid-senescence exhibited high positive correlations with yield and a high heritability in the three studied environments. Senescence rate was correlated with yield in some environments, whereas maximum NDVI was associated with yield in a drought-stressed environment. Where resources preclude frequent measurements, we found that NDVI measurements may be restricted to the period of rapid senescence, but caution is required when dealing with lines of different phenology. In contrast, regular monitoring during the whole period after flowering allows the estimation of senescence dynamics traits that may be reliably compared across genotypes and environments. We anticipate that selection for stay-green traits will enhance genetic progress towards high-yielding, stay-green germplasm.
Additional keywords: drought, leaf senescence, Triticum aestivum, wheat.
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