Figure 1.

Seedling performances under freezing treatment. The performances were measured as survival rate and relative electrical conductivity. Survival rates were measured on the third day at 25°C after freezing treatment at −1°C for 3 h for 30 Chinese elite maize inbred lines (A). Seedlings before freezing treatment are demonstrated by the two extreme lines, freezing tolerant KR701 (B) and freezing sensitive Hei8834 (C). Visible differences were observed on the third day of recovery at 25°C after freezing treatment (D) between KR701 (upper row) and Hei8834 (lower row). Relative electrical conductivity was measured for KR701 and Hei8834 before freezing treatment and after 1 h of freezing treatment at −1°C (E). Double asterisks indicate a statistically significant difference (p < 0.01) between KR701 and Hei8834. Mean values are calculated from three biological replicates; error bars represent the standard error of the mean.