Significance of Plant Canopy Maintenance in Crop Yield
Seema Dahiya *
KVK Panipat, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125004, India.
M. K. Rana
Department of Vegetable Science, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125004, India.
Rajbir Singh Khedwal
Oilseeds Section, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125004, India.
Ankur Chaudhary
Department of Agronomy, RRS Uchani, Karnal, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125004, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The yield of any crop depends on the capacity of a plant canopy to intercept and efficiently use the sunlight, which is dependent on canopy architecture of a plant viz., leaf size, shape and angle, number of leaves and branches, and a crop geometry viz., row orientation, row spacing, plant geometry, plant density, etc. The amount and distribution of leaf area in a crop canopy determine the way, by which, the photosynthetic active radiation is intercepted and consequently it influences the canopy photosynthesis and yield. The balance between the source and sink significantly contributes towards the higher accumulation of photosybthates Cropping geometry of a plant/crop affects the radiation use efficiency, intercepted photosynthetic active radiation (IPAR) and thereby the biological and economical yield of a crop. Optimum plant population stand and its density and a planting pattern with adequate spatial arrangement are important cultural factors that increase radiation interception and yield production.
Keywords: Plant canopy, row spacing, row orientation, plant density, plant architecture, radiation use, light interception, source to sink ratio