Modeling the Effects of Elevated Temperature and Weed Interference on Rice Grain Yield.

A 3-year phytotron study was conducted in Suwon (37.27°N, 126.99°E), Korea, to evaluate and model the effects of elevated temperature on rice-weed competition.

Earlier planting offsets the adverse effect of global warming on spring potato in South Korea.

Potato is one of the most important food crops in South Korea, but the climate change impact on potato production is not clearly understood due to the complex topography across the nation. The climate change impact on spring potato was assessed with a fine-resolution (1-km) simulation using the SUBSTOR-potato model and five regional climate models based on the Representative Concentration Pathways 8.5.

A surrogate weighted mean ensemble method to reduce the uncertainty at a regional scale for the calculation of potential evapotranspiration.

We propose a weighted ensemble approach using a surrogate variable. As a case study, the degree of agreement (DOA) statistics for potential evapotranspiration (PET) was determined to compare the ordinary arithmetic mean ensemble (OAME) method and the surrogate weighted mean ensemble (SWME) method for three domains. Solar radiation was used as the surrogate variable to determine the weight values for the ensemble members.

Differential Mechanisms of Potato Yield Loss Induced by High Day and Night Temperatures During Tuber Initiation and Bulking: Photosynthesis and Tuber Growth.

The tuber yield of potatoes is vulnerable to high temperature and is challenged by the asymmetric increase in day and night temperatures. This study aimed to evaluate photosynthesis, biomass growth, tuber mass distribution, and dry tuber yield in early harvested potatoes that were field-grown under high day and night temperature conditions during different growth stages. Potatoes were exposed to ambient (control), high night temperature (HNT; 19:00-7:00), high day temperature (HDT; 7:00-19:00), and high day/night temperature (HDNT; all day) for 14 days during tuber initiation (TI) or tuber bulking (TB) using portable, temperature-controlled plastic houses that were controlled to increase the temperature by 4.

Assimilating MODIS data-derived minimum input data set and water stress factors into CERES-Maize model improves regional corn yield predictions.

Crop growth models and remote sensing are useful tools for predicting crop growth and yield, but each tool has inherent drawbacks when predicting crop growth and yield at a regional scale. To improve the accuracy and precision of regional corn yield predictions, a simple approach for assimilating Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products into a crop growth model was developed, and regional yield prediction performance was evaluated in a major corn-producing state, Illinois, USA. Corn growth and yield were simulated for each grid using the Crop Environment Resource Synthesis (CERES)-Maize model with minimum inputs comprising planting date, fertilizer amount, genetic coefficients, soil, and weather data.

Phenology and Seed Yield Performance of Determinate Soybean Cultivars Grown at Elevated Temperatures in a Temperate Region.

Increased temperature means and fluctuations associated with climate change are predicted to exert profound effects on the seed yield of soybean. We conducted an experiment to evaluate the impacts of global warming on the phenology and yield of two determinate soybean cultivars in a temperate region (37.27°N, 126.

Assessment of microclimate conditions under artificial shades in a ginseng field.

Background: Knowledge on microclimate conditions under artificial shades in a ginseng field would facilitate climate-aware management of ginseng production.

Methods: Weather data were measured under the shade and outside the shade at two fields located in Gochang-gun and Jeongeup-si, Korea, in 2011 and 2012 seasons to assess temperature and humidity conditions under the shade. An empirical approach was developed and validated for the estimation of leaf wetness duration (LWD) using weather measurements outside the shade as inputs to the model.

Use of an Empirical Model to Estimate Leaf Wetness Duration for Operation of a Disease Warning System Under a Shade in a Ginseng Field.

Ginseng foliar diseases are typically controlled by spray application using periodic schedules. Few disease warning systems have been used for effective control of ginseng foliar diseases because ginseng is grown under shade nettings, which makes it difficult to obtain weather data for operation of the disease warning system. Using weather data measured outside the shade as inputs to an empirical leaf wetness duration (LWD) model, LWD was estimated to examine if operation of a disease warning system would be feasible for control of ginseng foliar diseases.

Identification of quantitative trait loci for cadmium accumulation and distribution in rice (Oryza sativa).

Cadmium (Cd) poses a serious risk to human health due to its biological concentration through the food chain. To date, information on genetic and molecular mechanisms of Cd accumulation and distribution in rice remains to be elucidated. We developed an independent F7 RIL population derived from a cross between two japonica cultivars with contrasting Cd levels, 'Suwon490' and 'SNU-SG1', for QTLs identification of Cd accumulation and distribution.

Computational identification of anthocyanin-specific transcription factors using a rice microarray and maximum boundary range algorithm.

This study identifies 2,617 candidate genes related to anthocyanin biosynthesis in rice using microarray analysis and a newly developed maximum boundary range algorithm. Three seed developmental stages were examined in white cultivar and two black Dissociation insertion mutants. The resultant 235 transcription factor genes found to be associated with anthocyanin were classified into nine groups.

Quantitative trait loci associated with functional stay-green SNU-SG1 in rice.

During monocarpic senescence in higher plants, functional stay-green delays leaf yellowing, maintaining photosynthetic competence, whereas nonfunctional stay-green retains leaf greenness without sustaining photosynthetic activity. Thus, functional stay-green is considered a beneficial trait that can increase grain yield in cereal crops. A stay-green japonica rice 'SNU-SG1' had a good seed-setting rate and grain yield, indicating the presence of a functional stay-green genotype.

Differentially expressed genes related to symbiotic association in a supernodulating soybean mutant and its wild-type.

SUMMARY To understand the molecular basis of symbiotic association, a cDNA-AFLP technique was used to identify differentially expressed transcripts between a supernodulating soybean mutant, SS2-2, and its wild-type, Sinpaldalkong 2. As sources of cDNA-AFLP templates, trifoliates of 2-week-old plants were collected 1 week after Bradyrhizobium japonicum inoculation. A total of 147 bands out of 4000 amplicons were recognized as differentially expressed fragments, with 40 transcript-derived fragments (TDFs) in SS2-2 and 65 TDFs in Sinpaldalkong 2.

Newly featured infection events in a supernodulating soybean mutant SS2-2 by Bradyrhizobium japonicum.

Supernodulating soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) mutant SS2-2 and its wild-type counterpart, Sinpaldalkong 2, were examined for the microstructural events associated with nodule formation and development.