HUBEI AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES ›› 2025, Vol. 64 ›› Issue (1): 1-6.doi: 10.14088/j.cnki.issn0439-8114.2025.01.001

• Breeding & Cultivation •     Next Articles

Effects of shading treatments on the kernel abortion and yield of maize

CHANG Xiao1,2, WANG Xiao-bo1,2, LIU Bo-lin1,3, YANY Zhao-sheng1,2, LI Jian1,2,3   

  1. 1. Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Anyang 455000, Henan, China;
    2. Institute of Western Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changji 831100, Xinjiang, China;
    3. Xinjiang Zhongyu Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., Changji 831100, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2024-07-08 Published:2025-02-20

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Abstract: Using maize （Zea mays L.） hybrid varieties Zhongyan 1603 and Zhongyan 698 as test materials, different shading duration treatments were set under field planting conditions to explore the effects of different shading treatments（30% shading rate） on maize kernel abortion, yield and its components. The results showed that in terms of kernel abortion, yield and its components, Zhongyan 698 was more sensitive to shading treatments than Zhongyan 1603. The proportion of kernel abortion increased with the increase of shading duration. At the stage of total small flowers to fertilize small flowers and the stage of fertilized small flowers to grains, shading stageⅢ（the 8th leaf stage to the 18th leaf stage shading） and shading stageⅣ（the 8th leaf stage to the silking stage shading） had significantly higher abortion rates than the non shading control （P<0.05）. In the mature period, the ear length, ear diameter and the kernels per row decreased with the increase of shading duration, and the difference between shading stage Ⅳ and the non shading control was significant（P<0.05）, while shading had no effect on the number of rows per ear. The yield, thousand-grains weight and number of grains per spike under shading treatments were lower than those of the non-shading control, and the differences between the shading stage Ⅲ, Ⅳ and the non-shading control were significant （P<0.05）, while shading had no effect on the number of harvested panicles. The correlation analysis results showed that the shading duration and the interval days between flowering and silk emergence were significantly positively correlated with the abortion rates （P<0.01）. In addition to the number of harvested panicles, the yield indicators were significantly negatively correlated with the number of shading days and the interval days between flowering and silk emergence （P<0.01）. This indicated that with the increase of shading, the interval days between flowering and silk emergence of maize were extended, and the kernels abortion rate after silk emergence was increased, resulting in a decrease in ear length, ear diameter and the kernels per row, thereby reducing thousand grain weight, grains per spike and yield.

Key words: maize（Zea mays L.）, shading, kernel abortion, yield

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