Fig. 1.

Leaves and chlorophyll content over the course of leaf senescence developmet. a Phenotypes of maize ear leaves at different days after pollination (DAP). Each sample was selected randomly from uniform plants. Representative plants were photographed to show the progressive yellowing process of leaves over the lifespan. b Chlorophyll content in the leaves of inbred lines ELS-1 and 87-1. The chlorophyll contents decreased with age in both materials but at different rates. The data were derived from triplicate experiments with the standard deviation plotted. CHIT, total chlorophyll content. Bars represent mean ± SE, n ≥ 5.^*, p < 0.1;^**, p < 0.01;^***, p < 0.001