Modeling and phenotyping canopy photosynthesis for higher crop yield potential

Title : Modeling and phenotyping canopy photosynthesis for higher crop yield potential

Abstract:

Canopy photosynthesis is the integral of photosynthesis of all the above ground parts of plant canopy. Canopy photosynthetic efficiency is a major determinant to biomass production and crop yield potential. The microclimate and photosynthetic properties of different leaves in a canopy are largely different and dynamic. To study canopy photosynthesis, we developed 3D canopy model and ray tracing algorithm for calculating canopy photosynthesis. With 3D model, we dissected the contributions of plant architectural, physiological and environmental factors to canopy photosynthesis. Currently, we have developed models of maize, rice, wheat and soybean. We also developed canopy gas exchange system (CAPTS) and high throughput phenomics platform for measuring canopy photosynthesis related traits. With CAPTS system, canopy photosynthesis rate of wheat grown in field was measured. We quantified the dynamic changes of crop canopy light use efficiency (LUE), energy conversion efficiency (e_c) during a day and a growing season with canopy gas exchange method. Results show that the LUE of two wheat cultivars with different canopy architectures at five stages varies between 0.01 to about 0.05 mol CO₂ mol^-1 photon, with the LUE being higher under medium PAR. Throughout the growing season, the e_c varies from 0.5% to 3.7% (11%~80% of the maximal e_c for C3 plants) with incident PAR identified as a major factor controlling variation of e_c. The estimated average e_c from tillering to grain filling stages was about 2.17%, i.e. 47.2% of the theoretical maximal. The estimated season-averaged radiation use efficiency (RUE) was 1.5~1.7 g MJ^-1, which was similar to the estimated RUE based on biomass harvesting. The large variations of LUE and e_c imply great opportunity to improve canopy photosynthesis for greater wheat biomass and yield potential.

Audience Take Away: 

• New research tools for plant canopy photosynthesis
• New canopy models and methods used for studying canopy photosynthesis
• Combination of plant phenomics technology and 3D plant modeling

Biography:

Dr. Qingfeng Song studied canopy photosynthesis with modeling and phenomics methods, he got his BS of bioinformatics at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2009 and joint the research group of Prof. Xin-Guang Zhu at CAS-MPG partner institute of computational biology (PICB) and he received his PhD degree in 2014 at Chinese Academy of Sciences. As research assistant, he worked at PICB for three years and obtained the position of research associate at Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 2017. He has published more than 30 research articles in SCI journals.