Perspectives on improving light distribution and light use efficiency in crop canopies

Plant stands in nature differ markedly from most seen in modern agriculture. In a dense mixed stand, plants must vie for resources, including light, for greater survival and fitness. Competitive advantages over surrounding plants improve fitness of the individual, thus maintaining the competitive traits in the gene pool. In contrast, monoculture crop production strives to increase output at the stand level and thus benefits from cooperation to increase yield of the community. In choosing plants with higher yields to propagate and grow for food, humans may have inadvertently selected the best competitors rather than the best cooperators. Here, we discuss how this selection for competitiveness has led to overinvestment in characteristics that increase light interception and, consequently, sub-optimal light use efficiency in crop fields that constrains yield improvement. Decades of crop canopy modeling research have provided potential strategies for improving light distribution in crop canopies, and we review the current progress of these strategies, including balancing light distribution through reducing pigment concentration. Based on recent research revealing red-shifted photosynthetic pigments in algae and photosynthetic bacteria, we also discuss potential strategies for optimizing light interception and use through introducing alternative pigment types in crops. These strategies for improving light distribution and expanding the wavelengths of light beyond those traditionally defined for photosynthesis in plant canopies may have large implications for improving crop yield and closing the yield gap.

Decades of canopy modeling and recent advances in photosynthesis research reveal strategies for improving canopy light use efficiency in crops.     

断伤作物根系对籽粒产量与水分利用效率的影响研究现状及问题

就断伤作物根系对作物生长、产量形成及水分利用效率的影响方面的研究文献进行了评述,并提出了需要进一步探讨的若干问题。断根对作物地上、地下部生长状况及产量的影响与断根时问、程度直接相关。现有的能够与作物断根效果相联系的田问管理措施,以中耕为代表。但断根对作物产量的影响的报道是不一致的,有表现出正向效应的结果,也有表现出负向效应的结果。需要深入探讨的是可能存在的对于产量与水分利用效率具有正向效应的断根程度与时问的优化组合,揭示其在不同作物上的表现,并探讨其作用方式与内在机理。     

Opportunities for improving phosphorus-use efficiency in crop plants

Limitation of grain crop productivity by phosphorus (P) is widespread and will probably increase in the future. Enhanced P efficiency can be achieved by improved uptake of phosphate from soil (P-acquisition efficiency) and by improved productivity per unit P taken up (P-use efficiency). This review focuses on improved P-use efficiency, which can be achieved by plants that have overall lower P concentrations, and by optimal distribution and redistribution of P in the plant allowing maximum growth and biomass allocation to harvestable plant parts. Significant decreases in plant P pools may be possible, for example, through reductions of superfluous ribosomal RNA and replacement of phospholipids by sulfolipids and galactolipids. Improvements in P distribution within the plant may be possible by increased remobilization from tissues that no longer need it (e.g. senescing leaves) and reduced partitioning of P to developing grains. Such changes would prolong and enhance the productive use of P in photosynthesis and have nutritional and environmental benefits. Research considering physiological, metabolic, molecular biological, genetic and phylogenetic aspects of P-use efficiency is urgently needed to allow significant progress to be made in our understanding of this complex trait.     

间套作提高农田水分利用效率的节水机理

综合国内外多学科的研究成果,从地表水向土壤水的转化效率、农田水分的有效性、植物冠层结构、灌溉用水量和作物产量等方面,论述了间套作提高农田水分利用效率的节水机理.结果表明:间套作能够促进植物根系对农田水分的充分利用,有利于增加根层土壤的贮水量;间套作一方面减小棵间蒸发、抑制无效蒸腾,另一方面优化作物系统的源-库关系,创造出有利于植物生长发育的小气候,为资源在时间和空间上的集约利用和高产打好基础,在不增加农田灌溉水的同时大幅度提高单位面积产量,促进作物水分利用效率明显提高.     

Influence of different irrigation regimes on crop yield and water use efficiency of olive

Despite increasing interest in the effects of climate change on soil processes, the response of nitrification to elevated CO₂ remains unclear. Responses may depend on soil nitrogen (N) status, and inferences may vary depending on the methodological approach used. We investigated the interactive effects of elevated CO₂ and inorganic N supply on gross nitrification (using ¹⁵N pool dilution) and potential nitrification (using nitrifying enzyme activity assays) in Dactylis glomerata mesocosms. We measured the responses of putative drivers of nitrification (NH ₄ ⁺ production, NH ₄ ⁺ consumption, and soil environmental conditions) and of potential denitrification, a process functionally linked to nitrification. Gross nitrification was insensitive to all treatments, whereas potential nitrification was higher in the high N treatment and was further stimulated by elevated CO₂ in the high N treatment. Gross mineralization and NH ₄ ⁺ consumption rates were also significantly increased in response to elevated CO₂ in the high N treatment, while potential denitrification showed a significant increase in response to N addition. The discrepancy between the responses of gross and potential nitrification to elevated CO₂ and inorganic N supply suggest that these measurements provide different information, and should be used as complementary approaches to understand nitrification response to global change.     

作物群体CO2通量和水分利用效率的快速测定

In this paper, Eddy Correlation (EC) method was employed to measure the latent heat and CO2 flux density and to calculate Water Use Efficiency (WISE) of winter wheat community in Yucheng district, Shandong Province in 1997. The results showed that the CO2 flux density had an obvious diurnal change, with a maximum aboutl. 5 mg·s^-1·m^-2, which appeared at about 9 : 00-10 : 00 am in general. The WUE of wheat community presented a fall trend from morning to afternoon, and the CO2 flux density and WUE also had an obvious seasonal change, being lower in the early and late growth stages, and higher in the middle growth stage. The ranges of daily mean CO2 flux density and WUE were 0.2 - 0.9 mg·s^-1·m^-2 and 5 - 20 gCO2·kg^-1 1H2O, respectively.     

Strategies for improving water use efficiency of livestock production in rain-fed systems

Livestock production is a major consumer of fresh water, and the influence of livestock production on global fresh water resources is increasing because of the growing demand for livestock products. Increasing water use efficiency of livestock production, therefore, can contribute to the overall water use efficiency of agriculture. Previous studies have reported significant variation in livestock water productivity (LWP) within and among farming systems. Underlying causes of this variation in LWP require further investigation. The objective of this paper was to identify the factors that explain the variation in LWP within and among farming systems in Ethiopia. We quantified LWP for various farms in mixed-crop livestock systems and explored the effect of household demographic characteristics and farm assets on LWP using ANOVA and multilevel mixed-effect linear regression. We focused on water used to cultivate feeds on privately owned agricultural lands. There was a difference in LWP among farming systems and wealth categories. Better-off households followed by medium households had the highest LWP, whereas poor households had the lowest LWP. The variation in LWP among wealth categories could be explained by the differences in the ownership of livestock and availability of family labor. Regression results showed that the age of the household head, the size of the livestock holding and availability of family labor affected LWP positively. The results suggest that water use efficiency could be improved by alleviating resource constraints such as access to farm labor and livestock assets, oxen in particular.     

Microbial enhancement of crop resource use efficiency

Naturally occurring soil microbes may be used as inoculants to maintain crop yields despite decreased resource (water and nutrient) inputs. Plant symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi alter root aquaporin gene expression and greatly increase the surface area over which plant root systems take up water and nutrients. Soil bacteria on the root surface alter root phytohormone status thereby increasing growth, and can make nutrients more available to the plant. Combining different classes of soil organism within one inoculant can potentially take advantage of multiple plant growth-promoting mechanisms, but biological interactions between inoculant constituents and the plant are difficult to predict. Whether the yield benefits of such inocula allow modified nutrient and water management continues to challenge crop biotechnologists.     

Improving water use in crop production

Globally, agriculture accounts for 80-90% of all freshwater used by humans, and most of that is in crop production. In many areas, this water use is unsustainable; water supplies are also under pressure from other users and are being affected by climate change. Much effort is being made to reduce water use by crops and produce 'more crop per drop'. This paper examines water use by crops, taking particularly a physiological viewpoint, examining the underlying relationships between carbon uptake, growth and water loss. Key examples of recent progress in both assessing and improving crop water productivity are described. It is clear that improvements in both agronomic and physiological understanding have led to recent increases in water productivity in some crops. We believe that there is substantial potential for further improvements owing to the progress in understanding the physiological responses of plants to water supply, and there is considerable promise within the latest molecular genetic approaches, if linked to the appropriate environmental physiology. We conclude that the interactions between plant and environment require a team approach looking across the disciplines from genes to plants to crops in their particular environments to deliver improved water productivity and contribute to sustainability.     

Impact of oxygation on soil respiration,yield and water use efficiency of three crop species

Aims Oxygation refers to irrigation of crops with aerated water, through air injection using the venturi principle or the supply of hydrogen peroxide in the root zone, both using subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system. Oxygation improves water use efficiency (WUE), producing more yield and, and therefore, optimizes the use of drip and SDI. But the efficiency of oxygation is quite possibly dependent on a number of factors. The primary objective of this study was, therefore, to quantify the effects of oxygation, emitter depths and soil type on crop root zone oxygen content, soil respiration, plant physiological response, biomass yield, quality and WUE of three crop species.Methods This study investigated the potential of oxygation to enhance soil respiration, plant growth, yield and water use efficiencies (WUE) of cotton and wheat in experiments in enclosed heavy-duty concrete troughs (tubs) and pineapple and cotton in field experiments. Experimental treatments in tubs for wheat included comparisons between two soil types (vertisol and ferrosol) and superimposed were two oxygation methods (Mazzei air injector and Seair Diffusion System) compared to a control, and for cotton, emitters at two depths using Mazzei air injectors were compared to a control. The field experiments compared Mazzei air injectors and a control for cotton in Emerald and pineapple in Yeppoon, both in central Queensland, Australia.Important findings In all experiments, soil oxygen content and soil respiration markedly increased in response to the oxygation treatments. The O 2 concentration in the crop root zone increased by 2.4–32.6%, for oxygation compared to control at the same depth. The soil respiration increased by 42–100%. The number of wheat ears, leaf dry weight and total dry matter were significantly greater in Mazzei and Seair oxygation compared to the control. Fresh biomass of wheat increased by 11 and 8%, and dry weight of wheat increased by 8 and 3% in Mazzei and Seair oxygation treatments compared to the control, respectively. Likewise, the irrigation water use efficiency increased with oxygation compared to the control in wheat. The yield, WUE and number of other physiological parameters in wheat were enhanced in vertisol compared to ferrosol. The seed cotton yield in the tub experiment increased with oxygation by 14%, and significant differences for fresh biomass, dry matter and yield were also noted between oxygation and the control in the field. Lint yield and WUE both increased by 7% using Mazzei in the cotton field trial during 2008–09. There were significant effects of oxygation on pineapple fresh biomass, and dry matter weight, industry yield and a number of quality parameters were significantly improved. The total fruit yield and marketable increased by 17 and 4% and marketable WUE increased by 3% using Mazzei. Our data suggest that the benefits of oxygation are notable not only for dicotyledonous cotton but also for monocotyledonous wheat and pineapple representing different rooting morphologies and CO₂ fixation pathways.     

作物群体CO2通量和水分利用效率的快速测定

In this paper,Eddy Correlation (EC) method was employed to measure the latent heat and CO₂ flux density and to calculate Water Use Efficiency (WUE) of winter wheat community in Yucheng district,Shandong Province in 1997.The results showed that the CO₂ flux density had an obvious diurnal change,with a maximum about1.5 mg·s^-1·m^-2,which appeared at about 9:00～10:00 am in general.The WUE of wheat community presented a fall trend from morning to afternoon,and the CO₂ flux density and WUE also had an obvious seasonal change,being lower in the early and late growth stages,and higher in the middle growth stage.The ranges of daily mean CO₂ flux density and WUE were 0.2～0.9 mg·s^-1·m^-2 and 5～20 gCO₂·kg^-1 H₂O,respectively.     

作物光能利用效率和收获指数时空变化研究进展

1972年Monteith提出的光能利用效率模型是当前大多数作物生长和产量形成模拟研究以及遥感估产所采用的主要方法.光能利用效率(radiation use efficiency, RUE)和收获指数(harvest index, HI)是其中的两个基本参量.鉴于目前作物RUE和HI研究与应用中仍存在着一些问题,本文综述了相关研究进展,总结了不同尺度上作物RUE和HI的研究方法;介绍了当前遥感估产应用中对RUE和HI两个关键参数的处置概况;建议今后研究应在点尺度开展作物RUE和HI研究的基础上,寻求其在区域尺度上定量评估的可行性途径,切实有效地发挥作物RUE和HI研究在作物实际生产管理中和遥感产量估算方面的应用价值及潜力.     

生态系统水分利用效率研究进展

水分利用效率(WUE)是反映生态系统水碳循环相互关系的重要指标,开展生态系统水平WUE的时空变异性的研究有助于预测气候变化对生态系统水碳过程的影响.目前不同研究常常基于不同的算法估算生态系统WUE,一方面不同算法因包含了不同复杂程度的水过程而有着不同的内涵,另一方面各种算法又因包含了相同的核心过程而有着密切的联系.长期以来人们通过传统的生物量动态调查和生态系统水文过程的测定来估算生态系统的WUE,但该方法大大限制了在短时间尺度上对生态系统WUE进行分析,近年来发展起来的以涡度相关为代表的新技术的应用使得研究生态系统WUE在多个时空尺度上的变异特征取得了突破性的进展.生态系统WUE的主要影响因子与叶片尺度相似,主要有空气饱和水气压差(VPD)、土壤水分、大气CO2浓度、Ci/Ca等,另外,生态系统水分平衡特征也有着重要影响.比较分析表明,森林与草地生态系统WUE的日变化和季节变化存在显著的差异,同时森林和农田生态系统的WUE整体高于草地、荒漠和冻原.当前生态系统WUE的研究尚处于初始阶段,许多工作仍需深入开展,其中,多时间尺度以及生态系统间WUE的时空变异特征及机理的对比研究可能是未来工作的热点.     

Carbon isotopes and water use efficiency: sense and sensitivity

We revisit the relationship between plant water use efficiency and carbon isotope signatures (δ¹³C) of plant material. Based on the definitions of intrinsic, instantaneous and integrated water use efficiency, we discuss the implications for interpreting δ¹³C data from leaf to landscape levels, and across diurnal to decadal timescales. Previous studies have often applied a simplified, linear relationship between δ¹³C, ratios of intercellular to ambient CO₂ mole fraction (C _i/C _a), and water use efficiency. In contrast, photosynthetic ¹³C discrimination (Δ) is sensitive to the ratio of the chloroplast to ambient CO₂ mole fraction, C _c/C _a (rather than C _i/C _a) and, consequently, to mesophyll conductance. Because mesophyll conductance may differ between species and over time, it is not possible to determine C _c/C _a from the same gas exchange measurements as C _i/C _a. On the other hand, water use efficiency at the leaf level depends on evaporative demand, which does not directly affect Δ. Water use efficiency and Δ can thus vary independently, making it difficult to obtain trends in water use efficiency from δ¹³C data. As an alternative approach, we offer a model available at to explore how water use efficiency and ¹³C discrimination are related across leaf and canopy scales. The model provides a tool to investigate whether trends in Δ indicate changes in leaf functional traits and/or environmental conditions during leaf growth, and how they are associated with trends in plant water use efficiency. The model can be used, for example, to examine whether trends in δ¹³C signatures obtained from tree rings imply changes in tree water use efficiency in response to atmospheric CO₂ increase. This is crucial for predicting how plants may respond to future climate change. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Estimating crop yield using a satellite-based light use efficiency model

Satellite-based techniques that provide temporally and spatially continuous information over vegetated surfaces have become increasingly important in monitoring the global agriculture yield. In this study, we examine the performance of a light use efficiency model (EC-LUE) for simulating the gross primary production (GPP) and yield of crops. The EC-LUE model can explain on average approximately 90% of the variability in GPP for 36 FLUXNET sites globally. The results indicate that a universal set of parameters, independent of crop species (except for C4 crops), can be adopted in the EC-LUE model for simulating crops’ GPP. At both irrigated and rainfed sites, the EC-LUE model exhibits a similar level of performance. However, large errors are found when simulating yield based on crop harvest index. This analysis highlights the need to improve the representation of the harvest index and carbon allocation for improving crop yield estimations from satellite-based methods.     

小麦进化材料水分利用效率与氮利用效率间相互关系

利用田间微区试验,在整株水平上研究了10种小麦进化材料水分利用效率(WUE)和氮利用效率(NUE)间的关系．结果表明,小麦在从二倍体→六倍体的长期进化过程中,WUE和NUE均逐渐增加．除法国黑麦外,其余9种小麦进化材料WUE和NUE间呈显著正相关,表明法国黑麦高的NUE可能与WUE以外的其它生理机制有关．     

Wind increases leaf water use efficiency

A widespread perception is that, with increasing wind speed, transpiration from plant leaves increases. However, evidence suggests that increasing wind speed enhances carbon dioxide (CO₂) uptake while reducing transpiration because of more efficient convective cooling (under high solar radiation loads). We provide theoretical and experimental evidence that leaf water use efficiency (WUE, carbon uptake per water transpired) commonly increases with increasing wind speed, thus improving plants' ability to conserve water during photosynthesis. Our leaf‐scale analysis suggests that the observed global decrease in near‐surface wind speeds could have reduced WUE at a magnitude similar to the increase in WUE attributed to global rise in atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. However, there is indication that the effect of long‐term trends in wind speed on leaf gas exchange may be compensated for by the concurrent reduction in mean leaf sizes. These unintuitive feedbacks between wind, leaf size and water use efficiency call for re‐evaluation of the role of wind in plant water relations and potential re‐interpretation of temporal and geographic trends in leaf sizes.