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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2021, Vol. 20 Issue (2): 622-632    DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(20)63453-0
Section 4: Effective management strategies for closing yield and efficiency gaps Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
Improving maize grain yield by formulating plant growth regulator strategies in North China
GONG Li-sha1*, QU Shu-jie2*, HUANG Guan-min1, GUO Yu-ling1, ZHANG Ming-cai1, LI Zhao-hu1, ZHOU Yu-yi1, DUAN Liu-sheng1
1 Engineering Research Center of Plant Growth Regulator, Ministry of Education/College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, P.R.China 
2 Experimental Base Service Center of Agricultural Sciences, Jiyang 251400, P.R.China
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Abstract  Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are artificially synthesized compounds that have become an important technical guarantee for agricultural production. EDAH (containing 27% ethephon and 3% DA-6) has been proven to inhibit stalk elongation, promote stalk bold and increase mechanical strength and number of vascular bundles. DA-6 could enhance plant photosynthetic capacity and promote cell division and growth. In our study, experiments were performed at summer maize growing season during 2018–2019. The result showed that plant height, ear height and center of gravity height of maize with EDAH+DA-6 treatment were decreased by 10.18, 16.77 and 13.21%, respectively; leaf area and leaf area index also significantly (P<0.001) decreased by 24.11 and 60.15%, respectively; the value of mean tilt angle significantly (P<0.001) increased by 16.72% compared with the control plants, which meant that EDAH+DA-6 could shape more compact plant type. Therefore, lodging rate of maize with EDAH+DA-6 treatment decreased by 6.95% compared with control plants, and the grain yield was increased by 15.51%. In addition, EDAH+DA-6 treatment significantly improved the quality of maize base stalks, such as improving mechanical properties, which increased maize base stalk crushing strength by 22.23%; increased the hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin contents by 6.93, 3.87 and 30.21%, respectively. In conclusion, EDAH+DA-6 treatment could improve summer maize yield by shaping plant morphological characteristics and group photosynthesis.
Keywords:  plant grown regulators       canopy structure       lodging resistance       photosynthetic  
Received: 01 April 2020   Accepted:
Fund: This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFD0300102-4).
Corresponding Authors:  ZHOU Yu-yi, E-mail: zhouyuyi@cau.edu.cn   

Cite this article: 

GONG Li-sha, QU Shu-jie, HUANG Guan-min, GUO Yu-ling, ZHANG Ming-cai, LI Zhao-hu, ZHOU Yu-yi, DUAN Liu-sheng. 2021. Improving maize grain yield by formulating plant growth regulator strategies in North China. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 20(2): 622-632.

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