A new wavy-canopy architecture shaped by interlaced application of EDAH increases maize yield and lodging resistance at high density
2025
Bo Hong | Cheng Huang | Zhen-Yuan Chen | Hui-Min Chen | Jing Wang | Xin Liu | Zhi-Wei Wang | Yi-Hsuan Lin | Xian-Min Chen | Si Shen | Xiao-Gui Liang | Shun-Li Zhou
High-density planting increases maize yield but also canopy crowding and stalk lodging. Aiming this contradiction, a wavy canopy was created using interlaced chemical application (IC) of a plant growth retardant at the V14 stage with three densities (60,000, 75,000, and 90,000 plants ha−1, indicated by D1, D2, and D3, respectively) for two seasons. The results showed that the IC-treated wavy canopy featuring both natural height (IC-H) and dwarfed (IC-L) plants, improved light transmission by 8.54%, 8.49%, and 16.49% on average than the corresponding controls (CK) at D1, D2, and D3, respectively. The alleviation of canopy crowding stimulated leaf photosynthesis, sugar availability, basal-internode strength, and decreased plant lodging ratios in both IC-H and IC-L, particularly under higher densities. Meanwhile, the IC populations produced significantly higher yield than CK, with an average increase of 3.38%, 16.70%, and 15.28% at D1, D2, and D3, respectively. Collectively, this study proposed a new wavy canopy strategy using plant growth retardant to simultaneously increase yield performance and lodging resistance, thus offering a sustainable solution for further development of high-density maize production.
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