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Hormonal changes with uniconazole trigger canopy apparent photosynthesis and grain filling in wheat crop in a semi-arid climate

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Abstract

Phytohormones are important for the growth and development of plants. The objective of the experiment was to investigate the effect of foliar application of uniconazole (UCZ) at the four-leaf stage on hormone crosstalk and production of winter wheat. An experiment was carried out during 2015–2016 and 2016–2017 growth season in a semi-arid region, where UCZ at a concentration of 0 (CK, distilled water), 15 (FU15), 30 (FU30), and 45 (FU45) mg L−1 were sprayed on wheat crop at the four-leaf stage at a rate of 138.8 mL m−2. UCZ alters the endogenous hormone contents in flag leaves and in grains. UCZ inhibited gibberellic acid (GA) in flag leaves and in grains where the lower GA with UCZ improved the zeatin + zeatin riboside (Z + ZR) and abscisic acid (ABA) contents. The lower GA and higher Z + ZR and ABA contents with UCZ-treated plants improved the chlorophyll content and canopy apparent photosynthesis (CAP) as well as the grain-filling characteristics. The Z + ZR and ABA in flag leaves were positively correlated with chlorophyll content and CAP value while negatively with GA. Moreover, the Z + ZR and ABA were positively correlated with maximum grain weight, mean grain-filling rate, and maximum grain-filling rate, while negatively with GA level. Treatment FU30 significantly improved the chlorophyll content, CAP value, spike weight, grain-filling characteristics, and hormone contents of Z + ZR and ABA while it decreased the GA level. The hormone crosstalk with UCZ significantly increased the yield of wheat crop, where FU30 treatment performs better.

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Funding

This study was supported by funding from the National High Technology Research and Development Programs of China (863 Program, No. 2013AA102902), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31601256), the special fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest (201303104), the 111 Project of Chinese Education Ministry (B12007), and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2019M663837).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Crop Physio-Ecology and Tillage Science in North-Western Loess Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Irshad Ahmad, Muhammad Kamran, Xiangping Meng, Shahzad Ali, Shakeel Ahmad, Tiening Liu & Qingfang Han

  2. College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Irshad Ahmad

  3. College of Agriculture, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, 030801, China

    Zhiqiang Gao

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  1. Irshad Ahmad
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  2. Muhammad Kamran
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  3. Xiangping Meng
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  4. Shahzad Ali
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  5. Shakeel Ahmad
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  6. Zhiqiang Gao
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  7. Tiening Liu
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  8. Qingfang Han
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Contributions

Q.H., I.A., and L.T. conceived and designed the research. I.A. performed the research. M.K., X.M., S.A., and S.A. contributed in the field experiment. I.A. wrote the manuscript. Z.G. helped in the revision of manuscript.

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Correspondence to Irshad Ahmad or Qingfang Han.

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Ahmad, I., Kamran, M., Meng, X. et al. Hormonal changes with uniconazole trigger canopy apparent photosynthesis and grain filling in wheat crop in a semi-arid climate. Protoplasma 258, 139–150 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-020-01559-0

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