Influence of late planting on light interception, radiation use efficiency and biomass production of four sweet sorghum cultivars

Abstract

As a measure of a plants ability to convert solar energy into biomass, radiation use efficiency (RUE) can be used to compare species and genotypes within species. Despite considerable research on RUE of biofuel species, few reports on sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.) RUE are available. Radiation use efficiency and biomass yield of four sweet sorghum genotypes (‘Dale’, ‘M 81E’, ‘Topper 76-6’, and ‘Sugar Drip’) was assessed in response to two late planting dates in a two-year study. The late planting dates would coincide with abandoning double-crop plantings of soybean following wheat. Aboveground biomass yield and RUE (gbiomassMJ−1 intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (IPAR)) was measured every two weeks beginning four weeks after planting. Two estimates of RUE were calculated differing only in growth periods used (emergence to anthesis [EA] and during rapid linear growth [Max]). Biomass yields, EA, and Max RUE were similar between years and sorghum cultivars, but differed between planting dates. Early-July plantings resulted in greater RUE than mid-July plantings. Averaged across cultivars at the first planting date both years EA and Max RUE were 3.11 and 3.96gMJ−1IPAR, respectively, compared to 2.40 (EA RUE) and 2.79gMJ−1IPAR (Max RUE) at the second planting date. Mean biomass yield across years and cultivars was 10.67 and 8.63Mgha−1 at the first and second planting dates, respectively. These results confirm expected decreases in RUE and biomass production of late-planted sweet sorghum, but also illustrate that, even when planted late, sweet sorghum efficiently converts intercepted PAR to biomass.