Reassessment of tissue Na+ concentration as a criterion for salinity tolerance in bread wheat

The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.comWheat is the most important crop grown on many of world's saline and sodic soils, and breeding for improved salinity tolerance (ST) is the only feasible way of improving yield and yield stability under these conditions. There are a number of possible mechanisms by which cereals can tolerate high levels of salinity, but these can be considered in terms of Na+ exclusion and tissue tolerance. Na+ exclusion has been the focus of much of the recent work in wheat, but with relatively little progress to date in developing high-yielding, salt-tolerant genotypes. Using a diverse collection of bread wheat germplasm, the present study was conducted to assess the value of tissue Na+ concentration as a criterion for ST, and to determine whether ST differs with growth stage. Two experiments were conducted, the first with 38 genotypes and the second with 21 genotypes. A wide range of Na+ concentrations within the roots and shoots as well as in ST were observed in both experiments. However, maintenance of growth and yield when grown with 100mM NaCl was not correlated with the ability of a genotype to exclude Na+ either from an individual leaf blade or from the whole shoot. The K+:Na+ ratio also showed a wide range among the genotypes, but it did not explain the variation in ST among the genotypes. The results suggested that Na+ exclusion and tissue tolerance varied independently, and there was no significant relationship between Na+ exclusion and ST in bread wheat. Consequently, similar levels of ST may be achieved through different combinations of exclusion and tissue tolerance. Breeding for improved ST in bread wheat needs to select for traits related to both exclusion and tissue tolerance.Yusuf Genc, Glenn K. McDonald, Mark Teste

Análise de trilha dos componentes do rendimento de sementes de trevo-branco Path analysis in white clover seed yield components

Objetivou-se, por meio de uma análise de trilha para rendimento de sementes em trevo-branco, obter informações básicas para utilização em estratégias de manejo para maior produção de sementes e maior ressemeadura natural, proporcionando assim condições para maior persistência da espécie na pastagem. Foram analisadas as seguintes variáveis: botões florais, número de inflorescências, número de inflorescências maduras, número de legumes/inflorescência, peso de 100 sementes e rendimento de sementes. A variável que mais se correlacionou com o rendimento de sementes foi o número de inflorescências maduras (r = 0,91) e essa correlação ocorreu praticamente apenas pelo seu efeito direto. Nas demais variáveis, destacou-se o número de botões florais, com coeficiente de correlação alto (r = -0,55) e efeitos indiretos sobre os demais componentes. O número de inflorescências maduras parece ser a principal característica a ser considerada na busca de maior produção de sementes em trevo-branco.<br>The objective of this study was, by using a path analysis of seed yield in white clover, to obtain basic information for use in management strategies for higher seed production and higher natural reseeding and greater persistence of the species in the pasture. The following variables were analyzed: number of flower buds, number of inflorescences, number of mature inflorescences, number of legumes/inflorescence, weight of 100 seeds and seed yield. The variable most correlated with seed yield was the number of mature inflorescences (r = 0.91), and this correlation occurred almost only due to its direct effect. Among the other variables, the number of flower buds also had a high correlation coefficient (r = 0.55) and indirect effects on the other components. The number of mature inflorescences appeared to be the main characteristic to be considered when searching for a higher seed production in white clover

Avaliação do potencial de produção de sementes de acessos de trevo branco Evaluation of the seed production potential of white clover accessions

Este trabalho foi conduzido com o objetivo de avaliar o potencial de produção de sementes de 25 acessos da coleção básica de trevo-branco provenientes do Departamento de Agricultura dos Estados Unidos. Por meio de amostragens semanais realizadas entre 6/11/2003 e 10/3/2004, foram avaliadas as seguintes variáveis: número de inflorescências/planta, número de flores/inflorescência, número de inflorescências maduras/planta, número de legumes maduros/inflorescência, peso de mil sementes e rendimento de sementes/planta. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o completamente casualizado, com os acessos arranjados individualmente em cinco repetições. O rendimento de sementes em trevo-branco é altamente influenciado pelo número de inflorescências por planta, pelo número de inflorescências maduras por planta e pelo peso de mil sementes. Os acessos 53, 2 e 20 destacam-se pela superioridade em relação aos demais (7, 68, 19, 79, 58, 3, 15, 75, 64, 50, 33, 13, 59, 38, 28, 80, 54, 29, 31, 23, 22, 27, 65 e 73) na produção de sementes. Os acessos 27, 65 e 73 não produzem sementes nas condições locais durante o primeiro ano de avaliação.<br>This work was carried out to evaluate the potential of seed production of 25 accessions of the basic collection of white clover from the United States Department of Agriculture. Through weekly samplings performed from 11/6th/2003 to 3/10th/04 the following variables were analyzed: number of inflorescence/plant, number of flowers/inflorescence, number of mature inflorescence/plant, number of mature legumes/inflorescence, weight of 1000 seeds, and seed yield/plant. It was used a complete randomized experimental design with the accessions individually arranged in five replications. Seed yield of white clover is highly affected by number of inflorescence/plant, number of mature inflorescence/plant, and weight of 1000 seeds. The 53, 2 and 20 accessions differ from the others because of their superiority (7, 68, 19, 79, 58, 3, 15, 75, 64, 50, 33, 13, 59, 38, 28, 80, 54, 29, 31, 23, 22, 27, 65 and 73) of seed production. The accessions 27, 65 and 73 do not produce seeds in the local conditions during the first year of evaluation