Changes in the morphological traits of maize genotypes in China between the 1950s and 2000s

• Maize morphological traits showed significant changes among the genotypes.
• Newer hybrids have high rates of light transmittance and yield.
• Maize yield increase had depended on changes in leaf orientation traits.

Maize (Zea mays L.) morphological traits influence light attenuation within the canopy, and, ultimately, yield. The objectives of this 3-year field study were to: (i) examine the morphological characteristics of specific genotypes using varieties of maize that were widely used in Chinese agriculture from the 1950s to the 2000s; (ii) assess the canopies and yields of maize populations in relation to changes in their morphological characteristics. There were significant decrease on the ear ratio, center of gravity height and leaf angle with improved genotypes regardless of plant density. However, the ear leaves and adjacent leaves appeared to be longer in improved maize varieties. The mean leaf orientation value (LOV) and individual LOVs increased considerably during the time series of the genotypes, but more obvious changes in LOV occurred in the uppermost leaves. The average leaf area (LA) per plant and LA on the ears increased significantly from the 1950s to the 2000s. At the optimum density, current hybrid's canopy architecture was more compact, having short plant height and more upright leaf. The SDLA above or under ear significantly increased with improving genotypes, mainly due to new hybrids allowing the use of more individuals per area and thus increasing leaf area index (LAI). At the highest plant density, new hybrids had the rates of light transmittance (0.04–0.05), low attenuation coefficient (K = 0.47) and gained the highest yield. Leaf angle and LOV were highly correlated with TPAR/IPAR on ear, K, grain yield. Consequently, yield improvement in maize was probably a result of increased plant density tolerance through dependence on changes in leaf orientation characteristics.