Pre-treating paclobutrazol enhanced chilling tolerance of sweetpotato

The difference among florets within a panicle in grain filling and four hormone contents was compared by using two rice varieties differing in panicle type, i.e. compact-panicle variety Xiushui 994 and loose-panicle variety Xiushui 11. Meanwhile the effect of changing source (leaf cutting) and sink (floret removal) on grain filling and four hormone (indole-3-acetic acid, gibberellin, zeatin riboside and abscisic acid)level dynamics in developing grains was also examined. The results showed that Xiushui 994 had greater variation in grain filling rate (GFR), grain weight, filled grain percent (FGP) and four hormone contents during grain filling than Xiushui 11. Moreover, the former variety also showed the greater difference in the time of having the highest hormone contents between superior and inferior florets. The change in source and sink size had great effect on grain filling process and dynamics of four hormone contents, and the extent of the effect varied with variety and floret type. For Xiushui 994, floret-removal treatment had little effect on grain weight and FGP of the superior florets, but caused a marked decrease in GFR and four hormone contents, and a delay in the time when the highest GFR and hormone contents occurred. In the source-reducing treatment, GFR, grain weight and FGP for both superior and interior florets were all decreased. For Xiushui 11, both treatments had little effect on grain development in terms of grain filling properties and hormone content change in the two types of florets. The results indicated that the grain filling of compact-panicle variety is more source-limited than that of loose-panicle one, and relative level of hormone in both superior and inferior florets determined development of inferior florets.