High transpiration efficiency increases pod yield under intermittent drought in dry and hot atmospheric conditions but less so under wetter and cooler conditions in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea (L.)).

ABSTRACT: Water limitation is a major yield limiting factor in groundnut and transpiration efficiency (TE) is considered the main target for improvement, but TE being difficult to measure it has mostly been screened with surrogates. The paper re-explore the contribution of TE to grain yield in peanut by using a novel experimental approach in which TE is measured gravimetrically throughout the crop life cycle, in addition to measurement of TE surrogates. Experimentation was carried out with the groundnut reference collection (n = 288), across seasons varying for the evaporative demand (vapor pressure deficit, VPD) and across both fully irrigated and intermittent water stress conditions. There was large genotypic variation for TE under water stress in both low and high VPD season but the range was lar

SUBMITTER: Vadez V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4896115 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature