Variation in chlorophyll content per unit leaf area in spring wheat and implications for selection in segregating material.

Reduced levels of leaf chlorophyll content per unit leaf area in crops may be of advantage in the search for higher yields. Possible reasons include better light distribution in the crop canopy and less photochemical damage to leaves absorbing more light energy than required for maximum photosynthes...

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Main Authors: John Hamblin, Katia Stefanova, Tefera Tolera Angessa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0092529&type=printable
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author John Hamblin
Katia Stefanova
Tefera Tolera Angessa
author_facet John Hamblin
Katia Stefanova
Tefera Tolera Angessa
author_sort John Hamblin
collection DOAJ
description Reduced levels of leaf chlorophyll content per unit leaf area in crops may be of advantage in the search for higher yields. Possible reasons include better light distribution in the crop canopy and less photochemical damage to leaves absorbing more light energy than required for maximum photosynthesis. Reduced chlorophyll may also reduce the heat load at the top of canopy, reducing water requirements to cool leaves. Chloroplasts are nutrient rich and reducing their number may increase available nutrients for growth and development. To determine whether this hypothesis has any validity in spring wheat requires an understanding of genotypic differences in leaf chlorophyll content per unit area in diverse germplasm. This was measured with a SPAD 502 as SPAD units. The study was conducted in series of environments involving up to 28 genotypes, mainly spring wheat. In general, substantial and repeatable genotypic variation was observed. Consistent SPAD readings were recorded for different sampling positions on leaves, between different leaves on single plant, between different plants of the same genotype, and between different genotypes grown in the same or different environments. Plant nutrition affected SPAD units in nutrient poor environments. Wheat genotypes DBW 10 and Transfer were identified as having consistent and contrasting high and low average SPAD readings of 52 and 32 units, respectively, and a methodology to allow selection in segregating populations has been developed.
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spelling doaj-art-98ebe3d1349b4af792f1065bd4eb9ad52025-08-20T02:15:23ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-0193e9252910.1371/journal.pone.0092529Variation in chlorophyll content per unit leaf area in spring wheat and implications for selection in segregating material.John HamblinKatia StefanovaTefera Tolera AngessaReduced levels of leaf chlorophyll content per unit leaf area in crops may be of advantage in the search for higher yields. Possible reasons include better light distribution in the crop canopy and less photochemical damage to leaves absorbing more light energy than required for maximum photosynthesis. Reduced chlorophyll may also reduce the heat load at the top of canopy, reducing water requirements to cool leaves. Chloroplasts are nutrient rich and reducing their number may increase available nutrients for growth and development. To determine whether this hypothesis has any validity in spring wheat requires an understanding of genotypic differences in leaf chlorophyll content per unit area in diverse germplasm. This was measured with a SPAD 502 as SPAD units. The study was conducted in series of environments involving up to 28 genotypes, mainly spring wheat. In general, substantial and repeatable genotypic variation was observed. Consistent SPAD readings were recorded for different sampling positions on leaves, between different leaves on single plant, between different plants of the same genotype, and between different genotypes grown in the same or different environments. Plant nutrition affected SPAD units in nutrient poor environments. Wheat genotypes DBW 10 and Transfer were identified as having consistent and contrasting high and low average SPAD readings of 52 and 32 units, respectively, and a methodology to allow selection in segregating populations has been developed.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0092529&type=printable
spellingShingle John Hamblin
Katia Stefanova
Tefera Tolera Angessa
Variation in chlorophyll content per unit leaf area in spring wheat and implications for selection in segregating material.
PLoS ONE
title Variation in chlorophyll content per unit leaf area in spring wheat and implications for selection in segregating material.
title_full Variation in chlorophyll content per unit leaf area in spring wheat and implications for selection in segregating material.
title_fullStr Variation in chlorophyll content per unit leaf area in spring wheat and implications for selection in segregating material.
title_full_unstemmed Variation in chlorophyll content per unit leaf area in spring wheat and implications for selection in segregating material.
title_short Variation in chlorophyll content per unit leaf area in spring wheat and implications for selection in segregating material.
title_sort variation in chlorophyll content per unit leaf area in spring wheat and implications for selection in segregating material
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0092529&type=printable
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AT teferatoleraangessa variationinchlorophyllcontentperunitleafareainspringwheatandimplicationsforselectioninsegregatingmaterial