Scholarlink

<p>Cadmium (Cd) contamination threatens crop health, grain quality, and food safety in maize production systems. Identifying heritable agronomic traits associated with grain yield (GY) under Cd stress is essential for developing resilient and food-safe cultivars. In this study, 95&#xa0;maize genotypes were evaluated over two cropping seasons using a&#xa0;randomized complete block design with three replications under normal and Cd-stress conditions in Iran. Cadmium stress was imposed through foliar application of 30 mg·L<sup>−1</sup> CdCl<sub>2</sub>.2H<sub>2</sub>O at the six-leaf stage and early tasseling. Twenty-four agro-morphological traits were measured to assess genetic variability and yield-related trait relationships. Substantial genotypic and phenotypic variation was detected for GY and its key components. High broad-sense heritability (H<sup>2</sup>b &gt; 80%) was observed for grain number per main ear (GNME), thousand-grain weight (TGW), grain number per row (GNR), tassel branch number (TBN), cob weight (CW), and grain shape traits across environments. Stepwise regression indicated that GNME and TGW, along with a&#xa0;limited number of additional traits, explained over 85% of GY variation, with GNME alone accounting for ≥ 52%. Path analysis confirmed strong positive direct effects of GNME (0.68–0.70) and TGW (0.53–0.54) on GY (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.001). Factor analysis extracted six and seven latent factors under normal and Cd-stress conditions, explaining 62% and 65% of the total phenotypic variation, respectively. These findings highlight GNME and TGW as robust, trait-based selection criteria for improving grain yield and Cd tolerance in maize breeding programs.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Identifying Key Agronomic Traits Influencing Grain Yield in Maize Under Cadmium-Induced Stress

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月1日

查看全文
  • Sara Farokhzadeh,
  • Nafiseh Mahdinezhad,
  • Ali Asghar Ghaderi,
  • Reza Darvishzadeh,
  • Barat Ali Fakheri,
  • Sorour Arzhang

摘要

Cadmium (Cd) contamination threatens crop health, grain quality, and food safety in maize production systems. Identifying heritable agronomic traits associated with grain yield (GY) under Cd stress is essential for developing resilient and food-safe cultivars. In this study, 95 maize genotypes were evaluated over two cropping seasons using a randomized complete block design with three replications under normal and Cd-stress conditions in Iran. Cadmium stress was imposed through foliar application of 30 mg·L−1 CdCl2.2H2O at the six-leaf stage and early tasseling. Twenty-four agro-morphological traits were measured to assess genetic variability and yield-related trait relationships. Substantial genotypic and phenotypic variation was detected for GY and its key components. High broad-sense heritability (H2b > 80%) was observed for grain number per main ear (GNME), thousand-grain weight (TGW), grain number per row (GNR), tassel branch number (TBN), cob weight (CW), and grain shape traits across environments. Stepwise regression indicated that GNME and TGW, along with a limited number of additional traits, explained over 85% of GY variation, with GNME alone accounting for ≥ 52%. Path analysis confirmed strong positive direct effects of GNME (0.68–0.70) and TGW (0.53–0.54) on GY (P < 0.001). Factor analysis extracted six and seven latent factors under normal and Cd-stress conditions, explaining 62% and 65% of the total phenotypic variation, respectively. These findings highlight GNME and TGW as robust, trait-based selection criteria for improving grain yield and Cd tolerance in maize breeding programs.