Historical trends in maize morphology from the 1950s to the 2010s in China  

作　　者：MA Da-ling XIE Rui-zhi YU Xiao-fang LI Shao-kun GAO Ju-lin 

机构地区：[1]Agricultural College,Inner Mongolia Agricultural University,Hohhot 010019,P.R.China [2]Institute of Crop Sciences,Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology and Ecology,Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,Beijing 100081,P.R.China

出　　处：《Journal of Integrative Agriculture》2022年第8期2159-2167,共9页农业科学学报（英文版）

基　　金：the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2017YFD0300302 and 2017YFD0300804);the China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA(CARS-02-63);the Natural Science Foundation of Inner Mongolia,China(2020MS03053)。

摘　　要：The morphology of the plant and ear is a preliminary selection characteristic in breeding new varieties of maize.As new maize cultivars were developed from the 1950s through the 2010s in China,most had changes in both plant and ear morphological characteristics that contributed substantially to maize yield gains.Over the seven decades,plant and ear height fluctuated with a small increase from the 1950s to 2000s,and then a decrease in the 2010s,while the ear ratio and internodes length below the ear decreased significantly.Leaf angles became significantly more upright,especially for the leaves above the ear,and the leaf area per plant improved markedly.Leaf orientation increased from the 1950s to the 2000s then decreased in the 2010s.Tassel size and the anthesis-silking interval were both reduced substantially.Ear diameter,kernel number,and kernel weight increased from the 1950 to the 2000s,then decreased in the 2010s under the same cultivation conditions.We found that modern maize hybrids have a lower plant height,ear height and ear ratio which increased lodging resistance,a more erect leaf which increased high-density planting tolerance,and smaller ears and kernels which facilitated rapid dehydration during late grain filling.These morphological selection criteria,which are suitable for mechanized operations,are proposed as the focus for future maize breeding.

关 键 词：maize yield morphological characteristics breeding direction artificial selection improved maize cultivars mechanized farming 

分 类 号：S513[农业科学—作物学]