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Abstract
Shoots from 4- to 6-day old seedlings of seven ancestral or old cultivars of Zea mays L. were placed in a calorimeter. Dark metabolic heat rate (q) and CO2 production rate (RCO2) were measured at nine temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45 °C). Temperature dependencies of q and RCO2 were used to model response of both growth and substrate carbon conversion efficiency. Responses at 5 °C were similar, but differences were noted at warmer temperatures. Upper temperature limits for growth were: Minipopcorn (26 °C), Black popcorn (30 °C), Black Mexican Sweet (31 °C), Pula Janku (32 °C), Santo Domingo White (32 °C), Loncho (39 °C), and Santa Ana Blue (45 °C). This study of seedling metabolism reveals climatic adaptation among cultivars that may prove beneficial to maize production across the globe.
Parent Publication
Citation
Smith, Bruce N.; Walker, Jillian L.; Stone, Rebekka L.; Jones, Angela R.; Hansen, Lee D. 2001. Temperature-dependent respiration-growth relations in ancestral maize cultivars. In: McArthur, E. Durant; Fairbanks, Daniel J., comps. Shrubland ecosystem genetics and biodiversity: proceedings; 2000 June 13-15; Provo, UT. Proc. RMRS-P-21. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 276-279.
