Plants have evolved sophisticated defense mechanisms against herbivores to help them adapt to the environment. Understanding the defense mechanisms in plants can help us control insects in a more effective manner. In this study, we found that compared with Tianlong 2 (a cultivated soybean with insect susceptibility), ED059 (a wild soybean line with insect resistance) contains sharper pubescence tips, as well as lower transcript levels of wound-induced protein kinase (WIPK) and salicylic acid-induced protein kinase (SIPK), which are important mitogen-activated protein kinases involved in early defense response to herbivores. The observed lower transcript levels of WIPK and SIPK induced higher levels of jasmonic acid (JA), JA biosynthesis enzymes (AOC3) and some secondary metabolites in ED059. Functional analysis of the KTI1 gene via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in Arabidopsis thaliana indicated that it plays an important role in herbivore defense in ED059. We further investigated the molecular response of third-instar Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) larvae to Tianlong 2 and ED059. We found apoptotic cells only in the midguts of larvae that fed on ED059. Compared with larvae reared on the susceptible cultivar Tianlong 2, transcript levels of catalase (CAT) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) were up-regulated, whereas those of CAR, CHSB, and TRY were down-regulated in larvae that fed on the highly resistant variety ED059. We propose that these differences underlie the different herbivore defense responses of ED059 and Tianlong 2.

The present experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of elevated [CO₂] with varying nutrient management on rice-rice production system. The experiment was conducted in the open field and inside open-top chambers (OTCs) of ambient [CO₂] (≈ 390 μmol L^{− 1}) and elevated [CO₂] environment (25% above ambient) during wet and dry seasons in 2011-2013 at Kharagpur, India. The nutrient management included recommended doses of N, P, and K as chemical fertilizer (CF), integration of chemical and organic sources, and application of increased (25% higher) doses of CF. The higher [CO₂] level in the OTC increased aboveground biomass but marginally decreased filled grains per panicle and grain yield of rice, compared to the ambient environment. However, crop root biomass was increased significantly under elevated [CO₂]. With respect to nutrient management, increasing the dose of CF increased grain yield significantly in both seasons. At the recommended dose of nutrients, integrated nutrient management was comparable to CF in the wet season, but significantly inferior in the dry season, in its effect on growth and yield of rice. The [CO₂] elevation in OTC led to a marginal increase in organic C and available P content of soil, but a decrease in available N content. It was concluded that increased doses of nutrients via integration of chemical and organic sources in the wet season and chemical sources alone in the dry season will minimize the adverse effect of future climate on rice production in subtropical India.

We investigated genetic variation of a rice HEADING DATE 1(HD1) homolog in foxtail millet. First, we searched for a rice HD1 homolog in a foxtail millet genome sequence and designed primers to amplify the entire coding sequence of the gene. We compared full HD1 gene sequences of 11 accessions (including Yugu 1, a Chinese cultivar used for genome sequencing) from various regions in Europe and Asia, found a nucleotide substitution at a putative splice site of intron 1, and designated the accessions with the nucleotide substitution as carrying a splicing variant. We verified by RT-PCR that this single nucleotide substitution causes aberrant splicing of intron 1. We investigated the geographical distribution of the splicing variant in 480 accessions of foxtail millet from various regions of Europe and Asia and part of Africa by dCAPS and found that the splicing variant is broadly distributed in Europe and Asia. Differences of heading times between accessions with wild type allele of the HD1 gene and those with the splicing variant allele were unclear. We also investigated variation in 13 accessions of ssp. viridis, the wild ancestor, and the results suggested that the wild type is predominant in the wild ancestor.

Powdery mildew, caused by Erysiphe pisi D.C., is a major constraint to pea production worldwide. The pea cultivar Xucai 1 has shown high resistance to E. pisi under greenhouse and field conditions. The objectives of this study were to identify and characterize genes conferring resistance to powdery mildew in Xucai 1. Three crosses, Qizhen 76 × Xucai 1, Bawan 6 × Xucai 1, and Xucai 1 × Bawan 6, were made to generate populations for genetic analysis. The resistance to E. pisi and segregation ratios in the F₁, F₂, and F_2:3 populations suggested a single recessive gene conferring the resistance of Xucai 1. Bulked segregant analysis was used to map the resistance gene using two F₂ populations. The resistance gene was close to markers AD60 and c5DNAmet on linkage group VI with genetic distances of 9.9 cM and 15.4 cM in the Xucai 1 × Bawan 6 F₂ population and 8.7 cM and 8.1 cM in the Qizhen 76 × Xucai 1 F₂ population, respectively, suggesting that the resistance gene was an er1 allele. This hypothesis was confirmed by comparison of the cDNA sequences of the PsMLO1 gene between the parents and the PsMLO1 wild type. Three distinct types of transcripts in Xucai 1, characterized by a 129-bp deletion and 155- and 220-bp insertions, were detected, consistent with the structure of the er1-2 allele. We concluded that resistance in Xucai 1 was conferred by er1-2 and that its linked markers will be useful in pea breeding programs.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the physiological responses of drought-tolerant and drought-susceptible soybean genotypes to exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) application during progressive soil drying at seedling stages. Five-day old soybean seedlings were transplanted into PVC tubes filled with soil mixture. Seedlings were watered daily with similar water volumes until second trifoliate leaves emerged, and thereafter soil drying with or without exogenous ABA application was imposed. Half of the seedlings of each genotype were left for regular watering as control plants. Soil water status declined significantly over seven days of withholding water supply for both genotypes. Leaf expansion rate, stomatal conductance (g_s), leaf water potential (ψ_w), and relative water content of leaves (%RWC) declined significantly under soil drying as well as soil drying with ABA application, compared to their values for well-watered soybean genotypes. However, a drought-tolerant genotype (C12) responded more rapidly than a drought-susceptible genotype (C08) after imposition of soil drying and soil drying with exogenous ABA. In addition, application of exogenous ABA to water-restricted soybeans resulted in higher %RWC and ψ_w in the drought-tolerant than in the drought-susceptible genotype. Compared to the drought-susceptible genotype, the drought-tolerant genotype was more responsive to exogenous ABA application, resulting in a higher root-to-shoot ratio.

The study estimated genetic gain for yield and other traits in winter wheat released for irrigated environments in Turkey from 1963 to 2004. Yield trials including 14 varieties were grown in 16 environments from 2008 to 2012 in provinces of Konya, Eskişehir, Ankara, and Edirne. The highest yields were achieved by recent varieties Kinaci-97 (5.48 t ha^{− 1}), Cetinel-2000 (5.39 t ha^{− 1}), Alpu-2001 (5.44tha^{− 1}), Ahmetaga (5.35 t ha^{− 1}), and Ekiz-2004 (5.42 t ha^{− 1}) compared to older varieties Yektay-406 (4.17 t ha^{− 1}) and Bezostaya-1 (4.27 t ha^{− 1}) released in the 1960s. The progress reached in grain yield in 20 years was 1.16 t ha^{− 1} or 58 kg ha^{− 1} (1.37%) per year. This gain was mainly achieved through shorter plant height and increased harvest index. There was no clear tendency of changes in specific yield components demonstrating that new high-yielding varieties may have different ways to reach their yield potentials. The yield gains were accompanied by improved stripe rust and leaf rust resistances primarily based on adult plant resistance genes. The grain quality of the new varieties did not deteriorate over time although most of them were inferior to the bread-making quality check Bezostaya-1, a feature that may require attention in future breeding.

Barnyard millet (Echinochloa spp.) is one of the most underresearched crops with respect to characterization of genetic resources and genetic enhancement. A total of 95 germplasm lines representing global collection were evaluated in two rainy seasons at Almora, Uttarakhand, India for qualitative and quantitative traits and the data were subjected to multivariate analysis. High variation was observed for days to maturity, five-ear grain weight, and yield components. The first three principal component axes explained 73% of the total multivariate variation. Three major groups were detected by projection of the accessions on the first two principal components. The separation of accessions was based mainly on trait morphology. Almost all Indian and origin-unknown accessions grouped together to form an Echinochloa frumentacea group. Japanese accessions grouped together except for a few outliers to form an Echinochloa esculenta group. The third group contained accessions from Russia, Japan, Cameroon, and Egypt. They formed a separate group on the scatterplot and represented accessions with lower values for all traits except basal tiller number. The interrelationships between the traits indicated that accessions with tall plants, long and broad leaves, longer inflorescences, and greater numbers of racemes should be given priority as donors or parents in varietal development initiatives. Cluster analysis identified two main clusters based on agro-morphological characters.

Clustering genotype × environment (GE) interactions and understanding the causes of GE interactions are among the most important tasks in crop breeding programs. Pattern analysis (cluster and ordination techniques) was applied to analyze GE interactions for grain yield of 24 durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum) genotypes (breeding lines and old and new cultivars) along with a popular bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivar grown in 21 different rainfed environments during the 2010-2013 cropping seasons. To investigate the causes of GE interaction, several genotypic and environmental covariables were used. In a combined ANOVA, environment was the predominant source of variation, accounting for 81.2% of the total sum of squares (TSS), and the remaining TSS due to the GE interaction effect was almost seven times that of the genetic effect. Cluster analysis separated the environments into four groups with similar discriminating ability among genotypes, and genotypes into five groups with similar patterns in yield performance. Pattern analysis confirmed two major environmental clusters (cold and warm), and allowed the discrimination and characterization of genotype adaptation. Within the cold-environment cluster, several subclusters were identified. The breeding lines were most adapted to moderate and warm environments, whereas the old varieties were adapted to cold environments. The results indicated that winter rainfall and plant height were among the environmental and genotypic covariables, respectively, that contributed most to GE interaction for grain yield in rainfed durum wheat.