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Light interception and Photosynthesis Rate of Grain Sorghum Cultivars of Disease Plant Types
Dissertation Abstract:
Seven grain sorghum cultivars were grown on three levels of nitrogen fertilizer and population density and in three environments to determine the efficiency of some morphological characters in light interception, photosynthesis and grain production. Plant characters studied were photosynthesis and respiration rate, grain yield, dry-matter production, grain-stover ratio, leaf area index, length, width and angle of leaf, panicle leaf, grains per panicle, weight of 100 grains, blooming days and plant height.
Results showed a close correlation between grain yield and photosynthesis rate and between photosynthesis and respiration rate. Based on light interception and grain yield, leaf angle and plant height were important criteria during the wet but not during the dry season. Among the yield components evaluated, number of grains per panicle was consistently the most closely related to grain yield, followed by length of panicle. Although grain yield tended to be associated with the total dry-matter production especially during the dry season, medium-tall cultivars had higher grain-stover ratio than very tall cultivars.
The seven cultivars yielded differently in different environments and with varying combinations of nitrogen fertilizer and plant population. Density population up to 2,800 plt/ha consistently resulted in reduced plant parts. However, this adverse effect was minimized by the application of 200 kg N/ha and eventually compensated by increased number of panicles per unit area. Plants treated with 100 kg N/ha generally matured 10 days earlier than unfertilized ones and markedly produced more grains per panicle.