Manipulating plant geometry to improve microclimate, grain yield, and harvest index in grain sorghum.
Cultivar selection, planting geometry, and plant population are the key factors determining grain sorghum yields in water deficit areas. The objective of this study was to investigate whether clump geometry (three plants clustered) improves microclimate within crop canopy when plants are grown under...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2017-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5338834?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1828335999666618368 |
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| author | Sushil Thapa Bob A Stewart Qingwu Xue Yuanquan Chen |
| author_facet | Sushil Thapa Bob A Stewart Qingwu Xue Yuanquan Chen |
| author_sort | Sushil Thapa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cultivar selection, planting geometry, and plant population are the key factors determining grain sorghum yields in water deficit areas. The objective of this study was to investigate whether clump geometry (three plants clustered) improves microclimate within crop canopy when plants are grown under varying water levels. In a 2-yr sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) greenhouse study, plants were grown at two geometries (clump and conventional evenly spaced planting, ESP), two water levels (high and low, representing well-watered and water-limited condition, respectively), and three soil surface treatments (lid covered, straw-mulched, and bare). Air temperature and relative humidity (RH) within the plant canopy were measured every five minutes at different growth stages. Mean vapor pressure deficits (VPDs) within the clumps were consistently lower than those for ESPs, indicating that clumps improved the microclimate. Clumps had significantly higher harvest index (HI) compared to ESPs (0.48 vs. 0.43), which was largely due to clumps having an average of 0.4 tillers per plant compared to 1.2 tillers per plant for ESPs. Grain yield in the current study was similar between clumps and ESPs. However, our results suggest that improved microclimate was likely a reason for clumps producing significantly higher grain yields compared to ESPs in previous studies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T21:53:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9d256410670242c095aac3cd8fa0249b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T21:53:57Z |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-9d256410670242c095aac3cd8fa0249b2022-12-22T02:28:19ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-01123e017351110.1371/journal.pone.0173511Manipulating plant geometry to improve microclimate, grain yield, and harvest index in grain sorghum.Sushil ThapaBob A StewartQingwu XueYuanquan ChenCultivar selection, planting geometry, and plant population are the key factors determining grain sorghum yields in water deficit areas. The objective of this study was to investigate whether clump geometry (three plants clustered) improves microclimate within crop canopy when plants are grown under varying water levels. In a 2-yr sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) greenhouse study, plants were grown at two geometries (clump and conventional evenly spaced planting, ESP), two water levels (high and low, representing well-watered and water-limited condition, respectively), and three soil surface treatments (lid covered, straw-mulched, and bare). Air temperature and relative humidity (RH) within the plant canopy were measured every five minutes at different growth stages. Mean vapor pressure deficits (VPDs) within the clumps were consistently lower than those for ESPs, indicating that clumps improved the microclimate. Clumps had significantly higher harvest index (HI) compared to ESPs (0.48 vs. 0.43), which was largely due to clumps having an average of 0.4 tillers per plant compared to 1.2 tillers per plant for ESPs. Grain yield in the current study was similar between clumps and ESPs. However, our results suggest that improved microclimate was likely a reason for clumps producing significantly higher grain yields compared to ESPs in previous studies.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5338834?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Sushil Thapa Bob A Stewart Qingwu Xue Yuanquan Chen Manipulating plant geometry to improve microclimate, grain yield, and harvest index in grain sorghum. PLoS ONE |
| title | Manipulating plant geometry to improve microclimate, grain yield, and harvest index in grain sorghum. |
| title_full | Manipulating plant geometry to improve microclimate, grain yield, and harvest index in grain sorghum. |
| title_fullStr | Manipulating plant geometry to improve microclimate, grain yield, and harvest index in grain sorghum. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Manipulating plant geometry to improve microclimate, grain yield, and harvest index in grain sorghum. |
| title_short | Manipulating plant geometry to improve microclimate, grain yield, and harvest index in grain sorghum. |
| title_sort | manipulating plant geometry to improve microclimate grain yield and harvest index in grain sorghum |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5338834?pdf=render |
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