CROP PHYSIOLOGY AND PRODUCTIVITY

This paper reviews aspects of crop physiology and productivity for sel ected grain legumes. Vegetative development, including phases of leaf area increase and branching are described, then, the main reproductive stages and their progression along the stem are discussed. The effect s of water and nitrogen shortage on reproductive development are brief ly described. A model for reproductive development along a stem is pro posed and applied to several grain legumes, and effects of genetic var iability are discussed. Growth, and its analysis in terms of intercept ed radiation and radiation use efficiency are then reviewed. The varia bility of these two components is analysed according to differences du e to species, genotypes (mainly characterized by different foliage str uctures), environmental conditions and methods of measurement. Yield i s then analysed as a direct consequence of crop growth. Finally, a pat tern of assimilate partitioning is described, and its consequences for reproductive structure formation, i.e. the grain number on each node of the stem, are discussed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.