Abstract
The continued improvement of crop yield is a fundamental driver in agriculture and is the goal of both plant breeders and researchers. Plant breeders have been remarkably successful in improving crop yield, as demonstrated by the continued release of varieties with improved yield potential. This has largely been accomplished through performance-based selection, without specific knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underpinning these improvements. Insight into molecular mechanisms has been provided by plant molecular, genetic, and biochemical research through elucidation of the function of genes and pathways that underlie many of the physiological processes that contribute to yield potential. Despite this knowledge, the impact of most genes and pathways on yield components have not been tested in key crops or in a field environment for yield assessment. This gap is difficult to bridge, but field-based physiological knowledge offers a starting point for leveraging molecular targets to successfully apply precision breeding technologies such as genome editing. A better understanding of both the molecular mechanisms underlying crop yield physiology and yield limiting processes under field conditions is essential for elucidating which combinations of favorable alleles are required for yield improvement. Consequently, one goal in plant biology should be to more fully integrate crop physiology, breeding, genetics, and molecular knowledge to identify impactful precision breeding targets for relevant yield traits. The foundation for this is an understanding of yield formation physiology. Here, using soybean as an example, we provide a top-down review of yield physiology, starting with the fact that yield is derived from a population of plants growing together in a community. We review yield and yield-related components to provide a basic overview of yield physiology, synthesizing these concepts to highlight how such knowledge can be leveraged for soybean improvement. Using genome editing as an example, we discuss why multiple disciplines must be brought together to fully realize the promise of precision breeding-based crop improvement.
Highlights
Improvements in crop yield led to the establishment of modern human societies
The partitioning of plant biomass that occurs during R1-R5 and the relationship between crop growth rate R1-R5 and seed number per unit land area in soybean has been established by multiple researchers (Herbert and Litchfield, 1984; Egli, 1993, 2019)
Severe stress or long periods of stress growth rate R1-R5 or canopy photosynthesis and effective will have a greater impact on yield, as does stress during the filling period is influenced by leaf area duration (LAD seed filling period (Anda et al, 2020; Veas et al, 2021)
Summary
Improvements in crop yield led to the establishment of modern human societies. These improvements continue to this day, as there is pressure to produce greater yield with fewer acres using even more sustainable agronomic practices. Crop growth rate R1-R5 is the primary determinant of seed number per unit land area and as such it is the most important yield-related component. The partitioning of plant biomass that occurs during R1-R5 and the relationship between crop growth rate R1-R5 and seed number per unit land area in soybean has been established by multiple researchers (Herbert and Litchfield, 1984; Egli, 1993, 2019).
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