Mechanical failure, known as lodging, negatively impacts yield and grain quality in crops. Limiting crop loss from lodging requires an understanding of the plant traits that contribute to lodging-resistance. In maize, specialized aerial brace roots are reported to reduce root lodging. However, their direct contribution to plant biomechanics has not been measured. In this manuscript, we find that brace roots establish a rigid base (i.e. stalk anchorage) to limit plant deflection in maize. The more brace root whorls that contact the soil, the greater the contribution of brace roots to anchorage. Previous studies have linked the number of brace root whorls to flowering time in maize. To determine if flowering time selection alters the brace root contribution to anchorage, a subset of the Hallauer's Tusón tropical population was analyzed. Despite a significant change in flowering time, selection neither altered the number of brace root whorls in the soil nor the overall contribution of brace roots to anchorage. These results demonstrate that brace roots provide a rigid base in maize, but the contribution to anchorage is not linearly related to flowering time.

中文翻译：

---

玉米支撑根提供秸秆固着

机械故障（称为倒伏）会对作物的产量和谷物品质产生负面影响。限制倒伏造成的农作物损失需要了解有助于倒伏的植物性状。在玉米中，据报道专门的气生支架根减少了根的倒伏。但是，它们对植物生物力学的直接贡献尚未得到衡量。在此手稿中，我们发现支撑根建立了刚性的基部（即茎杆锚固）以限制玉米中的植物变形。与土壤接触的支撑根螺纹越多，支撑根对锚固的贡献就越大。以前的研究已经将玉米根系螺纹的数量与开花时间联系起来。为了确定开花时间的选择是否会改变支架根部对锚定的贡献，对一部分哈劳尔图森热带种群进行了分析。尽管开花时间发生了显着变化，但选择既不改变土壤中支撑根轮的数量，也不改变支撑根对锚固的总体贡献。这些结果表明，支撑根为玉米提供了坚实的基础，但对锚定的贡献与开花时间没有线性关系。