ISSN:
1573-5060
Keywords:
adaptation
;
flowering
;
photoperiod
;
temperature
;
germplasm
;
characterisation
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
Notes:
Summary Descriptor lists for the major cereals and grain legumes include information on the duration from sowing to flowering. This is because the first step towards maximizing crop yield by agronomic management or plant breeding is to ensure that the phenology of the crop is well matched to the resources and constraints of the production environment. In this context, durations from sowing to flowering are of critical importance if crops sown on the appropriate date and at the appropriate density are to have the potential to yield well in a given environment. In most annual crops, the timing of phenological events is modulated primarily by responsiveness to photoperiod and temperature with large differences in sensitivity among genotypes. Irrespective of the crop, many advantages accrue from analyses of these photothermal responses not in terms of the evaluation descriptor ‘time from sowing to flowering (f)’ but in terms of the ‘rate of progress towards flowering (1/f)’. A computer program RoDMoD has been developed to convert evaluation descriptors for times of flowering to characterisation descriptors of the flowering response of a genotype to photoperiod and temperature. The program and the associated phenological model were developed from research undertaken in controlled environments and then validated in the field over wide ranges of locations and seasons. These advances should contribute to the development of cultivars phenologically well adapted to their target environments.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00022856
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