Preliminary Course.
Eco-Physiology
Density effect.
Density effect.
We have seen that, at single plant level, the biomass of each individual increment is inversely proportional to the number of plants per square metre.
Density effect at field level
When considering total biomass production per area, the density has no effect if the canopy is closed at very early stages.
However, it does not mean that the fruit is the same: the plant usually adjusts its structure to optimize its production.
In general, at early growth stages, canopy cover is not reached, leading to a shift in production profiles when comparing different density experiments.
Chrysanthemum crop biomass production at three densities (Photo and graph: E. Heuvelink, WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY)
- These experiments, carried out at Wageningen University on Chrysanthemum compared biomass production at crop
level for densities of 32, 48 and 64 plants per m2.
The production curves, expressed in g . m-2 are similar, staggered by a period corresponding to the different canopy closing dates.