Abstract
SummaryRaising crop yield potential is a major goal to ensure food security for the growing global population. Photosynthesis is the primary determinant of crop productivity and any gain in photosynthetic CO2 assimilation per unit of leaf area (A) has the potential to increase yield. Significant intraspecific variation in A is known to exist in various autotrophic organs that represent an unexploited target for crop improvement. However, the large number of factors that influence photosynthetic rates often makes it difficult to measure or estimate A under dynamic field conditions (i.e. fluctuating light intensities or temperatures). This complexity often results in photosynthetic capacity, rather than realized photosynthetic rates being used to assess natural variation in photosynthesis. Here we review the work on natural variation in A, the different factors determining A and their interaction in yield formation. A series of drawbacks and perspectives are presented for the most common analyses generally used to estimate A. The different yield components and their determination based on different photosynthetic organs are discussed with a major focus on potential exploitation of various traits for crop improvement. To conclude, an example of different possibilities to increase yield in wheat through enhancing A is illustrated.
Highlights
Photosynthesis is the primary determinant of crop productivity and any gain in photosynthetic efficiency has the potential to result in increases in yield (Flood et al, 2011; Lawson et al, 2012; Gu et al, 2014)
The yield potential of a crop can be described by the following equation: Yp 1⁄4 Q Á ei Á ec Á ep; where Q is total solar radiation, ei is the interception efficiency, ec is the efficiency for conversion into biomass and ep is the efficiency of partitioning biomass into harvested organs (Long et al, 2015)
Photosynthesis is a key determinant of crop yield
Summary
Raising crop yield potential is a major goal to ensure food security for the growing global population. Photosynthesis is the primary determinant of crop productivity and any gain in photosynthetic CO2 assimilation per unit of leaf area (A) has the potential to increase yield. The large number of factors that influence photosynthetic rates often makes it difficult to measure or estimate A under dynamic field conditions (i.e. fluctuating light intensities or temperatures). This complexity often results in photosynthetic capacity, rather than realized photosynthetic rates being used to assess natural variation in photosynthesis. The different yield components and their determination based on different photosynthetic organs are discussed with a major focus on potential exploitation of various traits for crop improvement.
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