High-Throughput Phenotyping of Cross-Sectional Morphology to Assess Stalk Mechanical Properties in Sorghum

Abstract

Lodging is one of the major constraints in attaining high yield in crop production. Major factors associated with stalk lodging involve morphological traits and anatomical features along with the chemical composition of the stem. However, little relevant research has been carried out in sorghum, particularly on the anatomical aspects. In this study, with a high-throughput procedure newly developed by our research group, the nine parameters related to stem regions and vascular bundles were generated in 58 sorghum germplasm accessions grown in two successive seasons. Correlation analysis and principal component analysis were conducted to investigate the relationship between anatomical aspects and stalk mechanical traits (breaking force, stalk strength and lodging index). It was found that most vascular parameters were positively associated with breaking force and lodging index with the correlation coefficient r varying from −0.46 to 0.64, whereas stalk strength was only associated with rind area with the r = 0.38. The germplasm resources can be divided into two contrasting categories (classes I with 23 accessions and II with 30 accessions). Compared to class II, the class I was characterized by a larger number (+40.7%) and bigger vascular bundle (+30%), thicker stem (+19.6%) and thicker rind (+36.0%) but shorter internode (plant) (−91.0%). This study provides the methodology and information for the studies of the stem anatomical parameters in crops and facilitates the selective breeding of sorghum.

Plant phenotyping relevance

ソルガム茎の断面形態・維管束形質を抽出する新規ハイスループット手順が研究の中心であり、機械的特性との関連も評価しているため。

Code and data availability

保存済みの本文根拠を更新済みルールで再検証し、公開資産1件を確認しました。