Modelling the effect of plant water use traits on yield and stay-green expression in sorghum

Kholova, J and Tharanya, M and Sivasakthi, K and Malayee, S and Baddam, R and Hammer, G L and McLean, G and Deshpande, S P and Hash, C T and Craufurd, P Q and Vadez, V (2014) Modelling the effect of plant water use traits on yield and stay-green expression in sorghum. Functional Plant Biology, 41 (11). pp. 1019-1034. ISSN 1445-4408

[img]
Preview
PDF (It is an Open Access article) - Published Version
Download (4MB) | Preview

Abstract

Post-rainy sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) production underpins the livelihood of millions in the semiarid tropics, where the crop is affected by drought. Drought scenarios have been classified and quantified using crop simulation. In this report, variation in traits that hypothetically contribute to drought adaptation (plant growth dynamics, canopy and root water conducting capacity, drought stress responses) were virtually introgressed into the most common post-rainy sorghum genotype, and the influence of these traits on plant growth, development, and grain and stover yield were simulated across different scenarios. Limited transpiration rates under high vapour pressure deficit had the highest positive effect on production, especially combined with enhanced water extraction capacity at the root level. Variability in leaf development (smaller canopy size, later plant vigour or increased leaf appearance rate) also increased grain yield under severe drought, although it caused a stover yield trade-off under milder stress. Although the leaf development response to soil drying varied, this trait had only a modest benefit on crop production across all stress scenarios. Closer dissection of the model outputs showed that under water limitation, grain yield was largely determined by the amount of water availability after anthesis, and this relationship became closer with stress severity. All traits investigated increased water availability after anthesis and caused a delay in leaf senescence and led to a ‘stay-green’ phenotype. In conclusion, we showed that breeding success remained highly probabilistic; maximum resilience and economic benefits depended on drought frequency. Maximum potential could be explored by specific combinations of traits.

Item Type: Article
Divisions: RP-Dryland Cereals
CRP: CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Cereals
Uncontrolled Keywords: APSIM, Drought stress, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, Ttrait modelling, Sorghum
Subjects: Mandate crops > Sorghum
Depositing User: Mr Ramesh K
Date Deposited: 05 Oct 2015 06:36
Last Modified: 30 Mar 2018 05:35
URI: http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/9035
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/FP13355
Projects: UNSPECIFIED
Funders: UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement: This paper originates from a presentation at the Interdrought IV Conference, Perth, Australia, 2–6 September 2013 & The authors acknowledge support from the CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Cereals, the Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security, and the Australian Center for International Agriculture Research (CIM-2007–120), which have supported some of the research activities presented in this article.
Links:
View Statistics

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item