Abstract
THE optimum plant density for a crop often decreases as the climate becomes drier. The usual explanation for this, that wider spacing of plants decreases competition for water1,2, overlooks the possible effect of other climatic factors in the size of individual plants. Thus data we have collected from maize density experiments suggest that smaller densities are used for this crop in relatively dry North-east Rhodesia than in relatively moist central England because plants grow much larger in Rhodesia than in England, rather than because water is in comparatively short supply in Rhodesia.
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References
Hudson, H. G., J. Agric. Sci., 31, 138 (1941).
Donald, C. M., Adv. Agron., 15, 1 (1963).
Allison, J. C. S., and Watson, D. J., Ann. Bot., 30, 365 (1966).
Bunting, E. S., Outl. Agric., 5, 104 (1966).
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ALLISON, J., EDDOWES, M. Climate and Optimum Plant Density for Maize. Nature 220, 1343–1344 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/2201343a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2201343a0
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