Abstract
Abstract Drought occurring at critical growth and developmental stages in cereals affects productivity by reducing biomass accumulation, grain set, and grain yield and quality. Maize (cv. SR‐73), sorghum (cv. Trump), and wheat (cv. Spear) were established in drought‐prone field conditions in Perth, Western Australia, in l994. The plants were then subjected to optimal and suboptimal supplementary watering regimes at growth stages that were sensitive to water availability. Glycinebetaine in aqueous solution was applied to leaves at three rates (2, 4 and 6 kg ha −1 and a control) to establish whether its application could ameliorate the effects of drought on the yield of the crops. Above‐ground biomass production was measured at the beginning and at termination of the watering regimes. Leaf tissue glycinebetaine concentrations were determined 1 and 3 weeks after application. At physiological maturity, grains from the crops were harvested and grain yield, number of grains m −2 and single grain weight were recorded. Drought significantly reduced above‐ground biomass production in maize (P = 0.047), but not in sorghum and wheat. Grain yield of maize, number of grains m −2 of maize and sorghum, and single grain weight of sorghum were significantly depressed by drought. Foliar application of aqueous glycinebetaine marginally enhanced biomass production in the three crops and significantly increased grain yield of maize (P = 0.001) and sorghum (P = 0.003). It also resulted in more grains m −2 of maize, sorghum and wheat (P = 0.001, 0.001 and 0.003, respectively), with interactions between water and glycinebetaine treatments for sorghum and wheat (P = 0.001 and 0.001. respectively). Residual tissue glycinebetaine levels remained high 3 weeks after application to the crops. The positive effects of glycinebetaine treatment appear to be linked to its physiological role as a plant osmoticum that improves drought tolerance. The results of these studies suggest that foliar application of glycinebetaine may be used to improve drought tolerance and economic yield of maize and sorghum, but not of wheat. Increased grain yield was associated with more grains m −2 rather than greater single grain weight.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 14
Claim · model-written summary
Drought significantly reduced maize above-ground biomass.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Drought significantly reduced above‐ground biomass production in maize (P = 0.047)”
Claim · model-written summary
Drought did not significantly reduce biomass in sorghum or wheat.
- Taxon
- sorghum and wheat
Sorghum
Triticum aestivume0 - Treatment
- Droughte1
- Outcome
- biomass productione1
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“but not in sorghum and wheat”
t0“Exogenous Glycinebetaine Enhances Grain Yield of Maize, Sorghum and Wheat Grown Under Two Supplementary Watering Regimes”
e1“Drought significantly reduced above‐ground biomass production in maize (P = 0.047)”
e2“Foliar application of aqueous glycinebetaine marginally enhanced biomass production in the three crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Drought depressed maize grain yield.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Grain yield of maize, number of grains m −2 of maize and sorghum, and single grain weight of sorghum were significantly depressed by drought.”
Claim · model-written summary
Drought depressed grain number in maize and sorghum.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“number of grains m −2 of maize and sorghum, and single grain weight of sorghum were significantly depressed by drought.”
Claim · model-written summary
Drought depressed sorghum single grain weight.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“single grain weight of sorghum were significantly depressed by drought.”
Claim · model-written summary
Foliar glycinebetaine marginally enhanced biomass in the three crops.
- Taxon
- Maize, Sorghum and WheatSorghumTriticum aestivum
Zea mayst0 - Treatment
- Foliar application of aqueous glycinebetainee0
- Outcome
- biomass productione0
- Direction
- enhancede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Foliar application of aqueous glycinebetaine marginally enhanced biomass production in the three crops”
t0“Exogenous Glycinebetaine Enhances Grain Yield of Maize, Sorghum and Wheat Grown Under Two Supplementary Watering Regimes”
e1“Drought significantly reduced above‐ground biomass production in maize (P = 0.047)”
e2“Foliar application of aqueous glycinebetaine marginally enhanced biomass production in the three crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Foliar glycinebetaine increased maize grain yield.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“significantly increased grain yield of maize (P = 0.001)”
t0“Exogenous Glycinebetaine Enhances Grain Yield of Maize, Sorghum and Wheat Grown Under Two Supplementary Watering Regimes”
e1“Drought significantly reduced above‐ground biomass production in maize (P = 0.047)”
e2“Foliar application of aqueous glycinebetaine marginally enhanced biomass production in the three crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Foliar glycinebetaine increased sorghum grain yield.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“sorghum (P = 0.003)”
t0“Exogenous Glycinebetaine Enhances Grain Yield of Maize, Sorghum and Wheat Grown Under Two Supplementary Watering Regimes”
e1“Drought significantly reduced above‐ground biomass production in maize (P = 0.047)”
e2“Foliar application of aqueous glycinebetaine marginally enhanced biomass production in the three crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Foliar glycinebetaine increased grain number in maize, sorghum, and wheat.
- Taxon
- maize, sorghum and wheatSorghumTriticum aestivumZea mayse0
- Treatment
- Glycinebetainet0
- Outcome
- grains m −2e0
- Direction
- moree0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“more grains m −2 of maize, sorghum and wheat (P = 0.001, 0.001 and 0.003, respectively)”
t0“Exogenous Glycinebetaine Enhances Grain Yield of Maize, Sorghum and Wheat Grown Under Two Supplementary Watering Regimes”
e1“Drought significantly reduced above‐ground biomass production in maize (P = 0.047)”
e2“Foliar application of aqueous glycinebetaine marginally enhanced biomass production in the three crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Water and glycinebetaine treatments interacted for sorghum and wheat grain number.
- Taxon
- sorghum and wheatSorghumTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- water and glycinebetaine treatmentse0
- Outcome
- interactionse0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“interactions between water and glycinebetaine treatments for sorghum and wheat (P = 0.001 and 0.001. respectively)”
Claim · model-written summary
Tissue glycinebetaine levels remained high three weeks after application.
- Taxon
- Maize, Sorghum and WheatSorghumTriticum aestivumZea mayst0
- Outcome
- Residual tissue glycinebetaine levelse0
- Direction
- remained highe0
- Qualifier
- 3 weeks after applicatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Residual tissue glycinebetaine levels remained high 3 weeks after application to the crops.”
t0“Exogenous Glycinebetaine Enhances Grain Yield of Maize, Sorghum and Wheat Grown Under Two Supplementary Watering Regimes”
e1“Drought significantly reduced above‐ground biomass production in maize (P = 0.047)”
e2“Foliar application of aqueous glycinebetaine marginally enhanced biomass production in the three crops”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors recommend foliar glycinebetaine for drought tolerance and yield in maize and sorghum.
- Outcome
- foliar application of glycinebetaine may be used to improve drought tolerance and economic yielde0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“foliar application of glycinebetaine may be used to improve drought tolerance and economic yield of maize and sorghum, but not of wheat.”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors do not recommend that application for wheat.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Outcome
- not of wheate0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“but not of wheat.”
Claim · model-written summary
Yield increases were associated with higher grain number rather than weight.
- Taxon
- Maize, Sorghum and WheatSorghumTriticum aestivumZea mayst0
- Outcome
- grain yielde0
- Direction
- Increasede0
- Comparator
- single grain weighte0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Increased grain yield was associated with more grains m −2 rather than greater single grain weight.”
t0“Exogenous Glycinebetaine Enhances Grain Yield of Maize, Sorghum and Wheat Grown Under Two Supplementary Watering Regimes”
e1“Drought significantly reduced above‐ground biomass production in maize (P = 0.047)”
e2“Foliar application of aqueous glycinebetaine marginally enhanced biomass production in the three crops”
The same questions in other papers
glycine betaine · yield · Triticum aestivum (wheat)Results differ
13 papers in the same direction as this paper · 2 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- no effect
12 papers more in this group
See all 16 papers →glycine betaine · yield · Zea mays (maize)Results agree
12 papers in the same direction as this paper
- positive
- positive
- positive
9 papers more in this group
See all 13 papers →drought · yield · SorghumResults differ
46 papers in the same direction as this paper · 8 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
51 papers more in this group
See all 55 papers →application · yield · SorghumPositive and negative results
80 papers in the same direction as this paper · 6 in the opposite direction · 1 reporting no difference from an alternative
- negative
- no effect
- negative
84 papers more in this group
See all 88 papers →drought · yield · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
299 papers in the same direction as this paper · 53 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
349 papers more in this group
See all 353 papers →application · yield · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
574 papers in the same direction as this paper · 42 in the opposite direction · 12 reporting no difference from an alternative
- no effect
- no effect
- negative
625 papers more in this group
See all 629 papers →drought · yield · Triticum aestivum (wheat)Positive and negative results
536 papers in the same direction as this paper · 95 in the opposite direction
- negative
- negative
- negative
628 papers more in this group
See all 632 papers →application · yield · Triticum aestivum (wheat)Positive and negative results
794 papers in the same direction as this paper · 75 in the opposite direction · 7 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- no effect
- negative
873 papers more in this group
See all 877 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.