Abstract
The objective of this paper was to examine the relationship between Water Use Efficiency (WUE) at the canopy and leaf levels, to determine soil moisture conditions, which can optimize yield, and WUE of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (Linn.) Moench), thus providing some theoretical foundation for using marginal land effectively and developing production of sweet sorghum. Three levels of soil moisture conditions were established, and photosynthetic characteristics and yield were measured. The canopy apparent photo-synthetic rate (CAP) and leaf photosynthetic rate (PN) were reduced gradually with increased drought stress, and the CAP was lower than the PN under every soil moisture conditions. The PN had a midday depression phenomenon, but the CAP did not exhibit this midday depression phenomenon under severe drought stress. The linear regression relationship of CAP and PN was CAP = 1.5945 + 0.1496 PN. The canopy apparent WUEC and leaf WUEL were the highest under moderate drought stress. The first was 5.3 and 5.8 times higher than the WUEL in mid-July and late August, respectively. The stem fresh biomass yield was 77 tons/ha under moderate drought stress and WUE of aboveground biomass yield (WUEB) was also the highest. Our results showed that moderate drought stress did not result in a significant reduction in biomass yield but increased WUE significantly.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
