Water deficit during panicle development in pearl millet: yield compensation by tillers

Mahalakshmi, V and Bidinger, F R (1986) Water deficit during panicle development in pearl millet: yield compensation by tillers. The Journal of Agricultural Science, 106 (1). pp. 113-119.

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Abstract

Water deficit during the panicle development stage reduced the grain yield of the main shoot panicle of pearl millet but this loss was compensated by increased grain yield of the tillers. The potential extent of compensation in grain yield components by tillers was investigated by removing the main shoot at panicle initiation (PI) and flowering stages respectively, for both irrigated and water-stressed plants. Grain yield loss by removal of the main shoot of plants at PI was fully compensated by tiller grain yield in both the irrigated and water-stressed plants. The compensation was, however, only partial when the main shoot was removed at flowering. The compensation for the grain yield loss in the main shoot due to either water stress or removal was through an increase in number of grains on the tillers. This increase was due to an increase in the number of productive tillers in the case of water stress and to both an increase in the number of productive tillers and an increase in the number of grains per panicle in the case of main shoot removal. This compensatory mechanism by tillers plays an important role in overcoming the effects of pre-flowering water stress damage to the main shoot.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	UNSPECIFIED
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Subjects:	Mandate crops > Millets
Depositing User:	Library ICRISAT
Date Deposited:	27 Sep 2011 10:42
Last Modified:	27 Sep 2011 10:42
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/1430
Official URL:
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	UNSPECIFIED
Links:	Author

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