Theses and Dissertations Collection

Background

Maize (Zea Mays L.) is one of the most extensively grown crops in the world. Due to lodging, or plant destruction caused by high wind and rain, 5% to 15% of the annual global crop is lost. Developing maize hybrids that exhibit high lodging resistance could increase food security and decrease the risk of crop loss. A new method of predicting stem lodging resistance is presented in this thesis.

Results

A novel rind puncture technique was used to obtain measurements of rind thickness and diameter for samples of poison hemlock that were highly correlated with caliper measurements and photographic image analysis measurements. Higher sample throughput was demonstrated by the novel rind puncture technique than by caliper measurements and image analysis techniques. The data generated by the novel puncture method was used to calculate an index quantity (the Integrative Puncture Score) that was highly correlated with stem failure load in maize.

Conclusions

The novel rind puncture technique shows promise as a high throughput method for determining rind thickness and diameter. The technique is an excellent candidate for direct implementation in the field. The Integrative Puncture Score shows promise as a breeding metric for producing lodge resistant maize hybrids.