Relationships between carbon isotope discrimination and leaf morphophysiological traits in spring-planted spring wheat under drought and salinity stress in Northern China
Lin Zhu A C F , Zong Suo Liang A F , Xing Xu B C F , Shu Hua Li C , Ji Hai Jing D and P. Monneveux EA College of Life Science, Northwest Agricultural & Forestry University, Yangling 712100, PR China.
B Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, PR China.
C Ningxia Key Laboratory of Agro-biotechnology, Ningxia Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Science, Yinchuan 75002, PR China.
D Ningxia Guyuan Institute of Agricultural Science, Guyuan 756000, PR China.
E SupAgro Montpellier, 2 place Viala, 34060 Montpellier Cedex, France.
F Corresponding authors. Email: xuxingscience@126.com (X. Xu); zhulinscience@126.com (L. Zhu); liangzs@ms.iswc.ac.cn (Z. S. Liang)
Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 59(10) 941-949 https://doi.org/10.1071/AR07476
Submitted: 26 December 2007 Accepted: 10 July 2008 Published: 18 September 2008
Abstract
The relationships between carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) and some morphophysiological traits such as specific leaf dry weight (SLDW), gas exchange parameters, and relative water content (RWC) were studied in a collection of 20 bread wheat cultivars (landraces, released cultivars and advanced lines) in three locations of the Ningxia region (North-East China), i.e. Yinchuan (limited irrigation conditions), Huinong (limited irrigation conditions + salinity) and Guyuan (rain-fed conditions). Relationships between Δ, grain yield (GY), and harvest index (HI) and above-ground biomass (AGB) were also analysed. Differences in the measured traits between different locations were highly related to the variation in water availability. Positive correlations were noted between Δ and HI and grain yield. Flag leaf Δ was positively correlated with RWC at anthesis, and negatively associated with SLDW at grain filling. Significant and negative correlations between Δ and dry matter weight per plant at anthesis and biomass at maturity were noted. Leaf temperature (LT) was found to be negatively correlated with Δ and gs. The findings suggest that Δ may be a useful indicator reflecting wheat yield, harvest index, and water status under irrigation and rain-fed conditions in the Ningxia region.
Additional keywords: specific leaf dry weight, harvest index.
Acknowledgments
This study was realised under the framework of the FAO/IAEA Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on ‘Selection for greater agronomic water use efficiency in wheat and rice using carbon isotope discrimination’. The authors are grateful to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria, for financial support (Research Contract No. 12651/R1).
Ansari R,
Naqvi SSM,
Khanzada AN, Hubick KT
(1998) Carbon isotope discrimination in wheat under saline conditions. Pakistan Journal of Botany 30, 87–93.
Araus JL,
Amaro T,
Zuhair Y, Nachit MM
(1997) Effect of leaf structure and water status on carbon isotope discrimination in field grown-durum wheat. Plant, Cell & Environment 20, 1484–1494.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Byrd GT, May PA
(2000) Physiological comparisons of Switchgrass cultivars differing in transpiration efficiency. Crop Science 40, 1271–1277.
Chen J,
He D, Cui S
(2003) The response of river water quality and quantity to the development of irrigated agriculture in the last 4 decades in the Yellow River basin, China. Water Resources Research 39, 1047–1057.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Cohen Y,
Alchanatis V,
Meron M,
Saranga Y, Tsipris J
(2005) Estimation of leaf water potential by thermal imagery and spatial analysis. Journal of Experimental Botany 56, 1843–1852.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |
Condon AG,
Farquhar GD, Richards RA
(1990) Genotypic variation in carbon isotope discrimination and transpiration efficiency in wheat. Leaf gas exchange and whole plant studies. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 17, 9–22.
Condon AG,
Richards RA, Farquhar GD
(1987) Carbon isotope discrimination is positively correlated with yield and dry matter production in field grown wheat. Crop Science 27, 996–1001.
Condon AG,
Richards RA,
Rebetzke GJ, Farquhar GD
(2002) Improving water-use efficiency and crop yield. Crop Science 42, 122–132.
| PubMed |
Condon AG,
Richards RA,
Rebetzke GJ, Farquhar GD
(2004) Breeding for high water-use efficiency. Journal of Experimental Botany 55, 2447–2460.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |
Craufurd PQ,
Austin RB,
Acevedo E, Hall MA
(1991) Carbon isotope discrimination and grain yield in barley. Field Crops Research 27, 301–313.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Delgado BMI,
Reynolds MP, Farquhar GD
(2002) Improving water-use efficiency and crop yield. Crop Science 42, 122–132.
| PubMed |
Deng XP,
Shan L,
Kang SZ,
Inanaga S, Ali MEK
(2003) Improvement of water-use efficiency in semiarid area of China. Agricultural Sciences in China 2, 35–44.
Ehdaie B,
Hall AE,
Farquhar GD,
Nguyen HT, Waines GG
(1991) Water-use efficiency and carbon isotope discrimination in wheat. Crop Science 31, 1282–1288.
Ehdaie B, Waines FJ
(1993) Variations in water use efficiency and its components in wheat: 1. Well-watered pot experiment. Crop Science 33, 294–299.
Farquhar GD,
Ehleringer JR, Hubick KT
(1989) Carbon isotope discrimination and photosynthesis. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology 40, 503–537.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Farquhar GD,
O’Leary MH, Berry JA
(1982) On the relationship between carbon isotope discrimination and the intercellular carbon dioxide concentration in leaves. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 9, 121–137.
Farquhar GD, Richards RA
(1984) Isotopic composition of plant carbon correlates with water-use-efficiency of wheat genotypes. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 11, 539–552.
Fischer RA,
Rees D,
Sayre KD,
Lu ZM,
Condon AG, Larque Saavedra A
(1998) Wheat yield progress associated with higher stomatal conductance and photosynthetic rate, and cooler canopies. Crop Science 38, 1467–1475.
Frederick CM,
Plaut Z, Saliendra ZN
(1994) Carbon isotope discrimination, gas exchange and growth of sugar cane cultivars under salinity. Plant Physiology 104, 521–526.
| PubMed |
Fu G,
Chen S,
Liu C, Shepard D
(2004) Hydro-climatic trends of the Yellow River basin for the last 50 years. Climatic Change 65, 149–178.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Gates DM
(1964) Leaf temperature and transpiration. Agronomy Journal 56, 273–277.
Isla R,
Aragues R, Royo A
(1998) Validity of various physiological traits as screening criteria for salt tolerance in barley. Field Crops Research 58, 97–107.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ismail AM, Hall AE
(1993) Inheritance of carbon isotope discrimination and water use efficiency in cowpea. Crop Science 33, 498–503.
Johnson DA, Bassett LM
(1991) Carbon isotope discrimination and water use efficiency in four cold season grasses. Crop Science 31, 157–162.
Jones HG
(1999) Use of thermography for quantitative studies of spatial and temporal variation of stomatal conductance over leaf surfaces. Plant, Cell & Environment 22, 1043–1055.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kondo M,
Pablico PP,
Aragones DV, Agbisit R
(2004) Genotypic variations in carbon isotope discrimination, transpiration efficiency, and biomass production in rice as affected by soil water conditions and N. Plant and Soil 267, 165–177.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Liu ZM,
Shan L,
Deng XP,
Inanaga S,
Sunohara W, Harada J
(1998) Effects of fertilizer and plant density on the yields, root system and water use of spring wheat. Research of Soil Water Conservation 5, 70–75.
Lopez-Castaneda C, Richards RA
(1994) Variation in temperate cereals in rain-fed environments. III. Water sue and water-use efficiency. Field Crops Research 39, 85–98.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Loss SP, Siddique KHM
(1994) Morphological and physiological traits associated with wheat yield increases in Mediterranean environments. Advances in Agronomy 52, 229–276.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Merah O,
Deléens E, Monneveux P
(1999) Grain yield, carbon isotope discrimination, mineral and silicon content in durum wheat under different precipitation regimes. Physiologia Plantarum 107, 387–394.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Merah O,
Deléens E,
Souyris I, Monneveux P
(2001c) Relationships between flag leaf carbon isotope discrimination and several morphophysiological traits in durum wheat under Mediterranean conditions. Environmental and Experimental Botany 45, 63–71.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |
Merah O,
Deléens E,
Souyris I,
Nachit M, Monneveux P
(2001b) Stability of carbon isotope discrimination and grain yield in durum wheat. Crop Science 41, 677–681.
Merah O,
Deléens E,
Teulat B, Monneveux P
(2001a) Productivity and carbon isotope discrimination in durum wheat organs under a Mediterranean climate. C. R. Academy of Science Paris 324, 51–57.
Misra SC,
Randive R,
Rao VS,
Sheshshayee MS,
Serraj R, Monneveux P
(2006) Relationship between carbon isotope discrimination, ash content and grain yield in wheat in the Peninsular Zone of India. Journal of Agronomy & Crop Science 192, 352–362.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Monneveux P,
Rekika D,
Acevedo E, Merah O
(2006) Effect of drought on leaf gas exchange, carbon isotope discrimination, transpiration efficiency and productivity in field grown durum wheat genotypes. Plant Science 170, 867–872.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Monneveux P,
Reynolds MP,
Trethowan R,
González-Santoyo H,
Peña RJ, Zapata F
(2005) Relationship between grain yield and carbon isotope discrimination in bread wheat under four water regimes. European Journal of Agronomy 22, 231–242.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Morgan JA,
LeCain DR,
McCaig TN, Quick JS
(1993) Gas exchange, carbon isotope discrimination and productivity in winter wheat. Crop Science 33, 178–186.
Mullen JA, Koller RH
(1988) Trends in carbohydrate depletion, respiratory carbon loss, and assimilate export from soybean leaves at night. Plant Physiology 86, 517–521.
| PubMed |
Poss JA,
Zeng L, Grieve C
(2004) Carbon isotope discrimination analysis and salt tolerance in rice genotypes. Cereal Research Communications 32, 339–346.
Richards RA,
Rebetzke GJ,
Condon AG, van Herwaarden AF
(2002) Breeding opportunities for increasing the efficiency of water use and crop yield in temperate cereals. Crop Science 42, 111–121.
| PubMed |
Sayre KD,
Acevedo E, Austin RB
(1995) Carbon isotope discrimination and grain yield for three bread wheat germplasm groups grown at different levels of water stress. Field Crops Research 41, 45–54.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Shaheen R, Hood-Nowotny RC
(2005) Effect of drought and salinity on carbon isotope discrimination in wheat cultivars. Plant Science 168, 901–909.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Shi H, Shao M
(2000) Soil and water loss from the Loess Plateau in China. Journal of Arid Environments 45, 9–20.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Virgona JM,
Hubick KT,
Rawson HM,
Farquhar GD, Downes RW
(1990) Genotypic variation in transpiration efficiency, carbon-isotope discrimination and carbon allocation during early growth in sunflower. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 17, 207–214.
Xin ZB, Xie ZE
(2005) Response of climate change to ENSO events in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China. Arid Land Geography 2, 239–243.
Xu X,
Yuan H,
Li SH, Monneveux P
(2007a) Relationship between carbon isotope discrimination and grain yield in spring wheat under different water regimes and under saline conditions in the Ningxia Province (North-west China). Journal of Agronomy & Crop Science 193, 422–434.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Xu X,
Yuan H,
Li SH, Monneveux P
(2007b) Relationship between carbon isotope discrimination and grain yield in spring wheat cultivated under different water regimes. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology 49, 1497–1507.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
