Seed Biology and the Yield of Grain Crops

Seed Biology and the Yield of Grain Crops

by D B Egli, Department of Agronomy, University of Kentucky, USA

Pub Date: May 1998
Hardback
184 pages

Readership
Agronomists, crop physiologists and plant breeders.

Main Description
The food supply to an expanding world population is based on grain crops, i.e. crops harvested for their seeds. Therefore, understanding the process of seed growth and its regulation is crucial in our efforts to increase production, in order to meet the needs of that population. Yield is determined by the ability of crop plants to use their assimilatory processes such as photosynthesis and also the biosynthetic processes in the seed, which are partly regulated within the seed itself.
This book examines the determination of grain crop yield from a new and unique perspective, by concentrating on the influence of the seed. All aspects of seed growth and development are described, including environmental and genetic effects on growth rate and length of filling period. The effect of the seed on the two main yield components, individual seed weight and number of seeds per unit area, is then discussed. Finally, the concepts and models developed are evaluated in terms of crop management. The book is essential reading for those concerned with seed science and crop yield, including agronomists, crop physiologists, plant breeders, and extension workers. It will also be a valuable source of information for lecturers and graduate students of agronomy and plant physiology.

Main Contents
Introduction
• Seeds as a Food Source
• Increasing Food Supplies: Historical Changes in Seed Yield
• Crop Physiology and Yield Improvement
• The Seed: An Integral Component of the Processes Determining Yield
Seed Growth and Development
• Seed Structure, Composition and Size
• The Three Phases of Seed Development
• Summary
Seed Growth Rate and Seed Fill Duration: Variation and Regulation
• Species and Cultivar Variation
• Seed Growth Rate
• Seed Fill Duration
• Summary
Yield Components – Regulation by the Seed
• Yield Components – Seeds Per Unit Area and Seed Size
• Determination of Seed Number
• Determination of Seed Size
• Summary
The Seed, Crop Management and Yield
• Seed Number per Unit Area and Yield
• Seed Size and Yield
• Source-sink Limitations of Yield
• Harvest Index and Partitioning
• Time and Yield
• Summary