Effects of exogenous calcium on agronomic traits,quality and grain calcium content of millet
Five calcium fertilizer gradients(CK:0 mg·L-1,C1:0.05 mg·L-1,C2:0.10 mg·L-1,C3:0.15 mg·L-1,C4:0.20 mg·L-1)were established using two high-calcium millet varieties,'Jingu 5'and'Yu-gu 47',and two low-calcium millet varieties,'Jigu 20'and'Jigu 38',as experimental materials.The effects of different concentrations of calcium fertilizer on grain growth and grain calcium content at jointing stage,heading stage and filling stage were studied,and the optimal concentration of exogenous calcium was determined.The results showed that compared with the control group,the plant height,stem diameter,leaf area,ear diameter and 1000-grain weight of'Jingu 5','Yugu 47','Jigu 20'and'Jigu 38'were increased in the treatment group(C1,C2,C3),and the quality was improved.C3 concentration treatment had the most significant effect on plant height,which was 9.65%,6.00%,5.63%and 9.12%higher than CK,respectively.Stem diameter of'Jingu 5'and'Yugu 47'under C3 treatment was 11.74%and 4.21%higher than CK,stem diameter of'Jigu 20'under C4 treatment was 11.82%higher than CK,stem diameter of'Jigu 38'under C2 treatment was 3.21%higher than CK.The leaf area of four millet varieties under C2 treatment was 3.31%,11.25%,3.74%and 6.08%higher than that of CK,respectively.Ear diameter under C3 treatment was 2.20%,16.48%,11.77%and 4.50%higher than CK,respectively.The maximum increase range of 1000-grain weight of four millet varieties by applying exogenous calci-um was 3.46%~7.75%.Furthermore,the application of calcium fertilizer can significantly increase the calcium content of grain seeds,among which the calcium content of grain seeds of'Jingu 5','Yugu 47'and'Jigu 20'reached the maximum value under C3 treatment,and increased by 25.41%,29.18%and 20.14%,respectively,compared with that of CK,the calcium content of grain seeds of'Jigu 38'reached the maximum value under C2 treatment,and increased by 36.12%compared with that of CK.The calcium concentration of 0.10~0.15 mg·L-1,the phenotypic agronomic trait,quality indexes and grain calcium content of millet were optimized,which was the best calcium application concentration for grain production in west Henan region.