Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Award Date

1960

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department / School

Agronomy

Abstract

Recorded in the pages of history are many tragic tales based on man’s want of more food. Many of these were brought about by drought conditions and the crop destruction which followed. Man in his quest for protection from such catastrophes has observed that some plants seem able to withstand the drouth conditions that kill or severely damage others. The agent or agents responsible for this tolerance have never been specifically pinpointed; however, certain internal and external conditions of the plants often seem to be correlated with it. The problem is complicated by the fact that the conditions correlated with resistance in one species may be completely different from those in another. Since natural conditions are often too erratic for accurate studies of drouth, it would be very desirable to find a simple technique for selecting plants or varieties under controlled conditions. The method would be even more desirable if seedling reactions could be correlated with mature plant responses so that large numbers of plants could be tested in a short period of time. This investigation was conducted in an attempt to develop such a technique for evaluating the potential drouth resistance of corn germ plasm. The result obtained were then analyzed to determine whether responses under greenhouses conditions corresponded to those found in the field.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Corn -- Drought tolerance

Description

Includes bibliographical references

Format

application/pdf

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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