Abstract
The phenomenon of overcompensation has been reported in various plant species although it has been treated by some as isolated incidents with only limited values. Reviewing reports on the extensive studies of defoliation in maize showed that different genotypes respond differently to defoliation, varying from phenomenal increase to significant loss in grain yield. The different responses of maize in kernel yield among genotypes to defoliation are confirmed in our experiments conducted in both China and Australia. Defoliated plants are likely to use less water during vegetative growth and that they also have better ability to extract water from the soil. We also found that defoliation dramatically delayed plant senescence under dry conditions, facilitating the production of high quality silage by widening the harvest window. As overcompensation occurs only in some genotypes, we believe that exploiting defoliation as a management practice directly for crop production can be risky. However, the fact that significant yield increase following defoliation does occur and that large genetic variation does exist meet the requirements for a successful breeding program. The detection of sizable quantitative trait locus (QTL) in the model plant species provides further evidence indicating the feasibility of exploiting this phenomenon through breeding. The stunning magnitudes of desirable responses reported in the literature suggest that overcompensation could become the most valuable breeding target in at least some species and its impact on crop production could be huge even if only a proportion of the reported variations could be captured.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
Reviewed studies found genotype-dependent grain-yield responses to defoliation, from gains to losses.
- Treatment
- defoliatione0
- Outcome
- grain yielde0
- Direction
- varying from phenomenal increase to significant losse0
Zea maysOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“different genotypes respond differently to defoliation, varying from phenomenal increase to significant loss in grain yield”
e7“defoliation in maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Experiments in China and Australia confirmed genotype-dependent kernel-yield responses to defoliation.
- Treatment
- defoliatione0
- Outcome
- kernel yielde0
- Direction
- different responsese0
- Setting
- China and Australiae0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The different responses of maize in kernel yield among genotypes to defoliation are confirmed in our experiments conducted in both China and Australia”
Claim · model-written summary
Defoliated plants are likely to use less water during vegetative growth.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Defoliated plants are likely to use less water during vegetative growth”
e7“defoliation in maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Defoliated plants are likely to extract water from soil more effectively.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“they also have better ability to extract water from the soil”
e7“defoliation in maize”
e1“Defoliated plants are likely to use less water during vegetative growth and that they also have better ability to extract water from the soil”
Claim · model-written summary
Defoliation delayed senescence under dry conditions.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“defoliation dramatically delayed plant senescence under dry conditions”
e7“defoliation in maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Delayed senescence widened the high-quality silage harvest window.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“facilitating the production of high quality silage by widening the harvest window”
e7“defoliation in maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Direct use of defoliation for crop management can be risky because only some genotypes overcompensate.
- Outcome
- exploiting defoliation as a management practice directly for crop production can be riskye0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“As overcompensation occurs only in some genotypes, we believe that exploiting defoliation as a management practice directly for crop production can be risky”
e7“defoliation in maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Some genotypes show significant yield increases after defoliation.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“significant yield increase following defoliation does occur”
e7“defoliation in maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Large genetic variation exists in response to defoliation.
- Outcome
- genetic variatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“large genetic variation does exist”
e7“defoliation in maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Reported QTL support breeding for overcompensation.
- Outcome
- sizable quantitative trait locus (QTL)e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The detection of sizable quantitative trait locus (QTL) in the model plant species provides further evidence indicating the feasibility of exploiting this phenomenon through breeding”
e7“defoliation in maize”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors propose overcompensation as a potentially valuable breeding target.
- Outcome
- overcompensation could become the most valuable breeding targete0
- Qualifier
- in at least some speciese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“overcompensation could become the most valuable breeding target in at least some species”
e7“defoliation in maize”
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