Plant Growth, Biomass and Yield Component Measurements
At maturity stage, plant shoots were harvested. The panicles were
counted, and the total stem and leaf dry matter per plant (Tot.shoot dry
matter) were measured after drying at 70°C for 48 h and adding DM from
organs used for biochemical analyses. Maximum tiller number was
determined at vegetative stage.
Grain yield and yield components were calculated according to (Liuet al. , 2008): grains were sorted by using a densiometric column.
The dry weight of ripened grains was determined after oven-drying at
80°C for 72 h. The 1,000-grain dry weight was then calculated.
In both experiments, local C source–sink ratio (LSSR) was estimated for
each plant by dividing flag leaf blade area and fertile spikelet number
on the main stem.