Photosynthetic and canopy characteristics of different varieties at the early elongation stage and their relationships with the cane yield in sugarcane.

Yong-Bao Pan,Rukai Chen,Hua Zhang,Youxiong Que,Yuye Zhang,Jun Luo,Liping Xu

doi:10.1155/2014/707095

Abstract

During sugarcane growth, the Early Elongation stage is critical to cane yield formation. In this study, parameters of 17 sugarcane varieties were determined at the Early Elongation stage using CI-301 photosynthesis measuring system and CI-100 digital plant canopy imager. The data analysis showed highly significant differences in leaf area index (LAI), mean foliage inclination angle (MFIA), transmission coefficient for diffused light penetration (TD), transmission coefficient for solar beam radiation penetration (TR), leaf distribution (LD), net photosynthetic rate (PN), transpiration rate (E), and stomatal conductance (GS) among sugarcane varieties. Based on the photosynthetic or canopy parameters, the 17 sugarcane varieties were classified into four categories. Through the factor analysis, nine parameters were represented by three principal factors, of which the cumulative rate of variance contributions reached 85.77%. A regression for sugarcane yield, with relative error of yield fitting less than 0.05, was successfully established: sugarcane yield = −27.19 − 1.69 × PN + 0.17 × E + 90.43 × LAI − 408.81 × LD + 0.0015 × NSH + 101.38 × D (R 2 = 0.928**). This study helps provide a theoretical basis and technical guidance for the screening of new sugarcane varieties with high net photosynthetic rate and ideal canopy structure.

Highlights

Photosynthesis is the basis of yield formation
Inheritance of photosynthetic characteristics [15,16,17], diurnal variation of net photosynthetic rate [18, 19], and seasonal variation [20, 21] have been reported in the separated sugarcane seedling populations
We aimed to investigate the effects of photosynthetic and canopy characteristics of 17 sugarcane varieties at the Early Elongation stage on cane yield

Summary

Introduction

Photosynthesis is the basis of yield formation. It is generally recognized that about 90%–95% of crop yield is formed from the assimilated carbons. Inheritance of photosynthetic characteristics [15,16,17], diurnal variation of net photosynthetic rate [18, 19], and seasonal variation [20, 21] have been reported in the separated sugarcane seedling populations Indices such as shape, size, quantity, and spatial distribution of leaves are directly related to the light environment and light utilization rate of the population. Size, quantity, and spatial distribution of leaves are directly related to the light environment and light utilization rate of the population They are the important factors affecting the light distribution in crop population and photosynthesis [22]

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Results