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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Adaptive Cropping Systems Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #296000
Title: Plant density and leaf area index effects on the distribution of light transmittance to the soil surface in maize

Author
item Timlin, Dennis
item Fleisher, David
item KEMANIAN, ARMEN - Pennsylvania State University
item Reddy, Vangimalla

Submitted to: Agronomy Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/19/2014
Publication Date: 9/24/2014
Publication URL: https://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/59625
Citation: Timlin, D.J., Fleisher, D.H., Kemanian, A., Reddy, V. 2014. Plant density and leaf area index effects on the distribution of light transmittance to the soil surface in maize. Agronomy Journal. 106(5):1828-1837.

Interpretive Summary: Light is necessary for plants to grow and produce harvestable yield. The architecture of row crops results in variable light interception by the plants and variable energy transmittance to the soil according to leaf density, the orientation of the crop rows, and direction of sunlight. Better utilization of light in row crops can lead to greater production efficiency. The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution of light reaching the soil between crop rows. We looked at the amount of light that reaches the center of a corn row as well as the amount that reached the soil where the plant stem was located. We found that less light was captured by the canopy in the position directly between plant rows than in positions directly under the rows. The difference in light capture between row positions varied by time of day due to changes in solar elevation. Light capture also varied by canopy size, row spacing and cloud cover. This information will be useful to scientists, agricultural managers, and policy makers to understand how agricultural management affects light interception by corn.

Technical Abstract: Light is necessary for plants to grow and produce harvestable yield. The architecture of row crops results in variable light interception by the plants and variable energy transmittance to the soil according to leaf density, the orientation of the crop rows, and direction of sunlight. Better utilization of light in row crops can lead to greater production efficiency. The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution of light reaching the soil between crop rows. We looked at the amount of light that reaches the center of a corn row as well as the amount that reached the soil where the plant stem was located. We found that less light was captured by the canopy in the position directly between plant rows than in positions directly under the rows. The difference in light capture between row positions varied by time of day due to changes in solar elevation. Light capture also varied by canopy size, row spacing and cloud cover. This information will be useful to scientists, agricultural managers, and policy makers to understand how agricultural management affects light interception by corn.