The Physiological Basis of Variation in Yield

Publisher Summary To discover the physiological basis of variation in crop yield, it is necessary to supplement laboratory studies by direct observations on crops growing in field conditions, measuring the simultaneous changes with time throughout the growth period in as many growth attributes as possible, and selecting especially those attributes that are susceptible to a simple physiological interpretation. While studying the technique of growth analysis, it is found that the yield of a field crop is the weight per unit area of the harvested produce or of some specific part of it, and it is, therefore, more logical to base an analysis of yield on the weight changes that occur during growth than on changes in morphological characters. The ratio (L/W, leaf area ratio) may be regarded as an index of the amount of “growing material” per unit dry weight of the plant. A possible method of analysis of change in dry weight, therefore, consists in the calculation of relative growth rate (RGR) and the further analysis of RGR in terms of net assimilation rate (NAR) and leaf area ratio. One advantage of this form of analysis is that it effects at least a partial separation of those aspects of growth that are controlled by internal factors from those that depend on external factors.

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