Leaf Area Formation of Spring Cereals in the Middle Amur Region

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the features of leaf area formation in spring cereals under agroecological conditions of the middle Amur region. The study is concerned with the varieties of spring oat Ekspress, spring soft wheat Khabarovchanka, and spring triticale Ukro. The features of leaf area formation in spring cereals have been shown at the major stages of organogenesis, and the maximum leaf area duration has been found at the heading–flowering stage. The maximum flag–leaf area duration in oat and triticale at the booting stage and in spring wheat at the heading stage has been obtained. Spring oat forms up to seven leaf layers, but spring wheat and spring triticale form from five to six layers under favorable conditions. However, the leaf apparatus was decreased significantly under the influence of environmental stresses. The high and direct correlation dependence of spring cereal yield on the total leaf area of plants (R = 0.891–0.986) has been determined. The formation of the leaf–area duration of spring cereals is strongly dependent on some agrometeorological conditions of the vegetation period, such as air–ground interface temperature, photosynthetically active radiation, and water availability.