Crop Science Grow Your Career with CSSA
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Published in Crop Sci 17:732-734 (1977)
© 1977 Crop Science Society of America
677 S. Segoe Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Undersander, D. J.
Right arrow Articles by Zuber, M. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Undersander, D. J.
Right arrow Articles by Zuber, M. S.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Undersander, D. J.
Right arrow Articles by Zuber, M. S.

Effect of Cyclic Selection for High and Low Crushing Strength on Rind, Pith, and Whole Stalk Composition in Corn1

D. J. Undersander, L. F. Bauman, V. L. Lechtenberg and M. S. Zuber2

Two synthetic corn (Zea mays L.) populations were selected for high and low crushing strength through five cycles of recurrent selection. Stalk sections from the second internode above the ground were collected from the fifth cycle plants. The stalk sections were separated into pith and rind components and analyzed for lignin and cellulose. In one synthetic (MoSQA) the lignin percentages in the stalk sections were 16.6 and 19.2 for low and high crushing strength selections, respectively. Lignin percentages were 15.9 and 17.6, respectively, for the low and high crushing strength selections in the second synthetic (MoSQB). However, stalk lignin percentages for the high and low selections in each population were not significantly different from stalk lignin percentages in the original unselected populations. Lignin percentage of the pith was not affected by selection for crushing strength. In MoSQA the lignin percentage of the rind increased with increased crushing strength. Lignin percentage of the rind in MoSQB did not change. However, the proportion of rind in the stalk changed from 75.8 to 82.1% due to selection for low and high crushing strength.

The changes in stalk composition were small relative to the large differences in crushing strength and lodging percentage between the high and low selections. This suggests that crushing strength and lodging resistance can be increased considerably without greatly affecting the composition, and presumably, the digestibility of corn stover.

Key Words: Stalk strength • Lodging • Lignin • Cellulose • Fiber

1 Cooperative investigations between Purdue Univ. Agric. Exp. Stn., Lafayette, Ind., Journal Paper No. 6330; Missouri Agric. Exp. Stn., Columbia, Mo., Journal Series No. 7612; and the ARS, USDA, Columbia, Mo.

2 Assistant professor of agronomy, Texas A&M Univ. Exp. Stn., Amarillo, Tex.; professor of agronomy, associate professor of agronomy, Purdue Agric. Exp. Stn.; research leader, ARS, USDA and professor of agronomy, Univ. of Missouri.

Received for publication July 29, 1976.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Crop Sci.Home page
J. F. Pedersen, K. P. Vogel, and D. L. Funnell
Impact of Reduced Lignin on Plant Fitness
Crop Sci., March 28, 2005; 45(3): 812 - 819.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Crop Sci.Home page
M. D. Casler
Agricultural Fitness of Smooth Bromegrass Populations Selected for Divergent Fiber Concentration
Crop Sci., January 1, 2005; 45(1): 36 - 43.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
The SCI Journals Agronomy Journal Vadose Zone Journal
Journal of Natural Resources
and Life Sciences Education		 Soil Science Society of America Journal
Journal of Plant Registrations Journal of
Environmental Quality		 The Plant Genome
Copyright © 1977 by the Crop Science Society of America.