Scientists further cowpea research—boosting canopy CO2 assimilation, water-use efficiency
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Crops grow dense canopies that consist of several layers of leaves—the upper layers with younger sun leaves and the lower layers with older shaded leaves that may have difficulty intercepting sunlight trickling down from the top layers.
In a recent study published in Food and Energy Security, scientists from Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) aimed to understand how much variation exists within diverse cowpea lines in light absorption and carbon dioxide (CO2) assimilation throughout the canopy. This information can ultimately be used to design more efficient canopies—with greater CO2 assimilation and water-use efficiency—to increase yields.