Abstract: The culm of the Triticum aestivum L. cv. “Lankao 906-4”, a high-yield cultivar, in comparison with “Jing 411”, a widely-planted cultivar, was studied by means of anatomical technique coupled with mechanical and chemical theory. A anatomical analysis revealed that “Lankao 906-4” possessed thicker mechanical tissue and larger vascular bundle area than those of “Jing 411”. In terms of the resistance to lodging, “Lankao 906-4”had higher culm strength. Furthermore the content of lignin was semiquantitatively analyzed with confocal laser scanning mircoscope (CLSM), and revealed a much higher lignin content in the culm of “Lankao 906-4” than that in the culm of “Jing 411”. All of these indicated that the characteristics of culm were important factors in breeding the super-production wheat cultivar. 

Key words: culm characteristics, high-yield wheat, wheat culm, lignin