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The effect of brassinosteroids on the morphology, development and yield of field-grown maize

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Abstract

The response of two field-grown inbred lines of maize (Zea mays L.) and their F1 hybrid to the application of 10−8–10−14 M solutions of 24-epibrassinolide or synthetic androstane analogue of castasterone in V3/4 and V6/7 developmental stages was followed during the vegetative and early reproductive phases of plant development. Brassinosteroids (BRs) significantly affected (either positively or negatively, depending on the genotype and the developmental stage they were applied) the height of plants during the early weeks after their application, but not the final plant height nor the number of leaves. Spraying of plants with BRs in V3/4 developmental stage usually also increased the length of the 7th to 10th leaf, whereas the application in V6/7 developmental stage had the opposite effect. The beginning of the reproductive phase of plant development and the course of flowering was strongly influenced by the application of BRs. Treatment of plants in V3/4 stage delayed and treatment of plants in V6/7 stage advanced the dates of anthesis and silking, regardless of the type of BR used, its concentration or plant genotype. The influence of BRs on the development of the secondary ear was the least pronounced in the F1 hybrid; in both inbred lines it strongly depended on the concentrations of BRs used. Various yield parameters were also affected by treatment of plants with BRs, but this effect depended on the developmental stage during which the application of BRs occured, the plant genotype, the type of BR and its concentration.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Dr. Jaroslav Poruba from the CEZEA Breeding Station in Čejč, Czech Republic, for the supply of maize kernels, to our students Jana Honnerová, Monika Benešová, Lenka Fridrichová and Zuzana Novosadová for their help with the measurements of yield and growth parameters, and to the technical personnel of the Genetical Garden of the Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, for taking care of the experimental plants. This study was supported by grants No. KJB601110611 of the Grant Agency of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, and No. MSM0021620858 from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Science, Viničná 5, 128 43, Prague, Czech Republic

    Dana Holá, Olga Rothová & Marie Kočová

  2. Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Flemingovo sq. 2, 166 10, Prague, Czech Republic

    Ladislav Kohout & Miroslav Kvasnica

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  1. Dana Holá
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  2. Olga Rothová
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Correspondence to Dana Holá.

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Holá, D., Rothová, O., Kočová, M. et al. The effect of brassinosteroids on the morphology, development and yield of field-grown maize. Plant Growth Regul 61, 29–43 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-010-9446-0

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