Abstract
Planting density influences structural characteristics and affects mineral nutrient acquisition, irradiance and photosynthesis amongst plants. An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of planting density on leaf gas exchange and nodulation of soybean (Glycine max (L) Merrill). The experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design (RCBD) in a 5 by 2 factorial treatment arrangement and was replicated three times. Planting density (10, 12, 20, 40, and 80 plants m−2) and soybean varieties (EAI 3600 and DPSB 19) were first and second factors, respectively. Collected data were subjected to analysis of variance in GENSTAT. Significantly different treatment means were separated using Tukey’s honestly significant difference test at 0.05 significance level. Higher planting density significantly increased (p<0.001) interception of photosynthetically active radiation. Increasing number of plants per unit area significantly (p<0.001) reduced root nodulation, stomata conductance, sub-stomatal CO2 concentration, photosynthetic and transpiration rates. Total chlorophyll content was not responsive to planting density though concentration of chlorophyll “a” content was significantly (p<0.005) higher at lower plant density than at higher plant density. Soil moisture status increased with reduction in plant density. Indeterminate variety DPSB 19 had higher rates of stomata conductance, photosynthesis and sub-stomatal CO2 concentration compared to determinate variety EAI 3600.
Highlights
Planting density affects plant structural characteristics and may help improve disease avoidance, lodging resistance, adaptation to mechanical harvesting and seed yield [1]
Total dry weight of leaves, leaf area index (LAI), crop growth rate (CGR) and nodulation are all dependent on plant density [2]
Lowest soil moisture level was attained at the highest plant density of 80 plants m−2 by cultivar DPSB 19
Summary
Planting density affects plant structural characteristics and may help improve disease avoidance, lodging resistance, adaptation to mechanical harvesting and seed yield [1]. A higher plant density has the potential to increase competition for nutrients, light and space while lower plant density may lead to inefficient use of natural resources and inputs [2, 3]. Total dry weight of leaves, leaf area index (LAI), crop growth rate (CGR) and nodulation are all dependent on plant density [2]. Leaf gas exchange, grain quality such as protein, oil and mineral contents depend on field production conditions with planting population playing a significant role [4]. Previous plant density studies have recommended different plant populations for optimization of soybean plant growth and yield. In United States of America, optimum plant populations for soybean vary from 30 to 50 plants m−2 [5] while in Iran and India, soybean yields were optimized at 60 plants m−2
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