*** among Dimensions of Ears and Their Form Factors in Maize(Zea Mays)Using Dimensional Analysis

作     者：Hongbo CAO Gaimei LIANG Jinzhong YANG Hongbo CAO;Gaimei LIANG;Jinzhong YANG

作者机构：Qingdao Agricultural University/Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Dry Farming TechniquesQingdao 266109China Shanxi Academy of Agricultural SciencesShanxi 030006China 

出 版 物：《Agricultural Science & Technology》 (农业科学与技术（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2016年第17卷第10期

页      面：2287-2292页

学科分类：09[农学] 0901[农学-作物学] 

基　　金：Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31271658) National Key Research and Development Program of China(2016YFD0300306) 

主　　题：Maize(Zea Mays) Dimensional analysis Ear shape Volumetric form factors Ear volume Diameter-to-length ratio Ear kernel weight 

摘      要：Ear morphological traits such as volume and shape are important features of maize and the quantitative associations among them can help understand kernel yield determination. 150 mature ears each of 4 maize cultivars were collected from field experiments, and ear length(L), diameter(D), area(S) and volume(V) were recorded for individual ears, kernel weight per ear also recorded for a portion of the examined ears. Following principles of dimensional analysis, 8 theoretical equations of 3 sets,which relate ear higher dimensions to its length and diameter, were developed and parameterized and validated with the field observations. The 3 optimized equations showed that the shape of ears in maize can be featured with 3 dimensionless form factors, namely diameter-to-length ratio(c=D/L), areal form factor(b=S/L/D), and volumetric form factor(a=V/L/D/D). Statistically,all of them were significantly different among cultivars, and a s values varied from 0.582 to 0.612, and b s 0.839-0.868, and c s 0.242-0.308. Volumetric form factor and areal form factor could estimate precisely ear volume and area respectively, but diameter-to-length ratio was not suitable to estimate ear diameter by its length. Ear volume explained almost all variation of ear kernel weight and product L*D*D did the same substantially. Dimensional analysis proved to be promising in understanding relationship among morphological traits of ears in maize. Its application in crop researches should improve our knowledge of the physical properties of crop plants.