For estimation of grain yield in wheat, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is considered as a potential screening tool. Field experiments were conducted to scrutinize the response of NDVI to yield behavior of different wheat cultivars and nitrogen fertilization at agronomic research area, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) during the two years 2008-09 and 2009-10. For recordi...

The narrow genetic variation of bread wheat is one of the limitations to improve it for drought-tolerance. The research carried out to study the responses of different genotypes and traits to imposed moisture stress. The plant material comprised of 10 Aegilops tauschii accessions as well as a tolerant (BW2) and a susceptible (BW1) bread wheat cultivar. To assess the root and shoot-traits, two s...

Cytokinin oxidase (CKX) plays a crucial role in plant growth and development by reversibly inactivating cytokinin (CTK). Twenty-four primer pairs, designed from ESTs of the TaCKX genes family of common wheat, were used to identify their allelic variations associated with grain size, weight, and filling rate in 169 recombinant inbred lines (RIL) derived from Jing 411 × Hongmangchun 21. TaCKX6a02...

A detailed and comprehensive understanding of seed reserve accumulation is of great importance for agriculture and crop improvement strategies. This work is part of a research programme aimed at using Brachypodium distachyon as a model plant for cereal grain development and filling. The focus was on the Bd21-3 accession, gathering morphological, cytological, and biochemical data, including prot...

terminal drought stress during grain filling period has recently become more common in the semiarid mediterranean regions, where wheat (triticum aestivum) is grown as an important winter cereal crop. the objective of this experiment was to study the effect of terminal drought stress on grain yield, gas exchange variables, and some physiological traits of nine bread wheat cultivars. an experimen...

The grain filling rate (GFR) is an important dynamic trait that determines the final grain yield and is controlled by a network of genes and environment factors. To determine the genetic basis of the GFR, a conditional quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis method was conducted using time-related phenotypic values of the GFR collected from a set of 243 immortalized F(2) (IF(2)) population, whi...

Although the remobilization of vegetative nitrogen (N) and post-silking N both contribute to grain N in maize (Zea mays L.), their regulation by grain sink strength is poorly understood. Here we use 15N labeling to analyze the dynamic behaviors of both pre- and post-silking N in relation to source and sink manipulation in maize plants. The results showed that the remobilization of pre-silking N...

Grain yield and quality of rice mainly depend on grain filling and endosperm development. Here we report that a rice NUCLEAR FACTOR Y (NF-Y) transcription factor, OsNF-YB1, is specifically expressed in the aleurone layer of developing endosperm and regulates grain filling and endosperm development. Knockdown of OsNF-YB1 expression by RNAi significantly retarded grain filling, leading to small g...