Zombori, Zoltán and Hovári, Miklós and Sass, László and Rádi, Feríz and Dudits, Dénes (2025) Monitoring early drought responses of maize plants by quantification of biomass and digital imaging of shoot and root growth for selection of hybrids in pre-breeding. CEREAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS, 53. pp. 2627-2641. ISSN 0133-3720
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Abstract
Improving adaptive potentials of crops to extreme environments is a key objective in breeding programs. Application of phenotyping platforms has become an integral component of maize breeding. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of 14 maize pre-breeding hybrids using an automated phenotyping system in a greenhouse setting. Maize plants were cultivated in plexiglass columns under controlled water conditions, maintaining soil water content at 60% (control) and 30% (drought stress). A strong correlation (r = 0.70) was observed between manually measured plant biomass (g) and estimated biovolume (kilopixel). Based on the reduction in biomass under drought stress, the hybrids were classified into three categories: Tolerant I, Tolerant II, and Sensitive groups. Hybrids in the Sensitive group demonstrated the highest productivity under control conditions. Also, high correlation (r = 0.60) was detected between plant height and biomass. Analysis of a large set of photosynthetic fluorescence markers revealed their negative correlations with biomass under drought conditions. Therefore, these parameters have limited applicability in identifying drought-tolerant genotypes. Through an in-depth analysis of growth-related shoot and root traits of young maize hybrid plants, the hybrid PG6 has been identified as a promising candidate for further development in ongoing breeding programs.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Additional Information: | Funding Agency and Grant Number: National Research, Development, and Innovation Office of the Hungarian Government [RRF-2.3.1-21-2022-00007] Funding text: This work was funded by the National Research, Development, and Innovation Office of the Hungarian Government through the RRF-2.3.1-21-2022-00007 grant for the "National Laboratory Program of Agro-Biotechnology and Precision Plant Breeding to Support Food Safety." The authors thank Gyoergyi Ferenc, Ph.D., for managing this grant. Also, the authors thank Andras Dudits, Ph.D., for English correction of the manuscript. |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | BIOMASS; drought stress; Imaging; Pre-breeding maize hybrids; Photosynthetic fluorescence markers; |
| Subjects: | Q Science / természettudomány > QH Natural history / természetrajz > QH301 Biology / biológia Q Science / természettudomány > QK Botany / növénytan S Agriculture / mezőgazdaság > SB Plant culture / növénytermesztés |
| SWORD Depositor: | MTMT SWORD |
| Depositing User: | MTMT SWORD |
| Date Deposited: | 20 Mar 2026 11:07 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Mar 2026 11:07 |
| URI: | https://real.mtak.hu/id/eprint/235907 |
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