Study on Light Interception and Biomass Production of Different Cotton Cultivars

Abstract

Identifying the characteristics of light interception and utilization is of great significance for improving the potential photosynthetic activity of plants. The present research investigates the differences in absorbing and converting photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) among various cotton cultivars. Field experiments were conducted in 2012, 2013 and 2014 in Anyang, Henan, China. Ten cultivars with different maturity and plant architectures were planted at a density of 60,000 plants ha-1 in randomized blocks, with three replicates. The spatial distribution of light in canopy was measured and quantified with a geo-statistical method, according to which the cumulative amount of intercepted radiation was calculated by Simpson 3/8 rules. Finally, light interception was analyzed in association with the biomass accumulation of different cultivars. The key results were: (1) late-maturing varieties with an incompact plant architecture captured more solar radiation throughout the whole growth period than middle varieties with columnar architecture and even more than early varieties with compact architecture, and they produced more biomass; (2) the highest PAR interception ratio and the maximum biomass accumulation rate occurred during the blossoming and boll-forming stage, when leaf area index (LAI) reached its peak; (3) the distribution within the canopy presented a significant spatial heterogeneity, and at late growing stage, the PAR was mainly intercepted by upper canopies in incompact-type plant communities, but was more homogeneous in columnar-type plants; however, the majority of radiation was transmitted through the canopy in compact-type colonies; (4) there was not a consistent variation relationship between the cumulative intercepted PAR (iPAR) and biomass among these cultivars over the three years of the study. Based on these results, we attempted to clarify the distinction in light spatial distribution within different canopies and the patterns of PAR interception in diverse cotton cultivars with different hereditary characters, thereby providing a significant basis for researchers to select cultivars with appropriate growth period and optimal plant architecture for improvement of light interception and utilization.

Low Light Alters the Photosynthesis Process in Cigar Tobacco via Modulation of the Chlorophyll Content, Chlorophyll Fluorescence, and Gene Expression

“…The results of our study demonstrate that leaf dry weight is lowered under low light. Leaf area (LA) growth determines the light interception [29], which is of great importance to improve the photosynthetic efficiency of a plant [30]. Overall, the results show that LA and specific leaf area (SLA) are increased, while specific leaf weight (SLW) is decreased in response to low light intensity.…”

Genotypic variation in spatiotemporal distribution of canopy light interception in relation to yield formation in cotton

“…Spatial canopy interception determines how much PAR reaches the elements of the canopy and helps to determine the optimal canopy form for a certain crop. Light interception (LI) by the canopy is an important environmental factor, in addition to genetic factors (Bai et al 2016), that determines the plant architecture type (Xue et al 2015).…”

Genetic Relationships Among Physiological Processes, Phenology, and Grain Yield Offer an Insight Into the Development of New Cultivars in Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr)

“…Path analysis is a multivariate methodology closely related to multivariate regression where the path coefficients correspond to standardized regression coefficients for the linear model suggested by the path diagram ( Walsh and Lynch, 1998 ). The efficiency of light interception is directly affected by canopy architecture and function ( Bai et al, 2016 ; Chavarria et al, 2017 ). Changes in one standard unit of AGR40 are associated with changes in 0.86 standard units of Ei .…”