| Genetic improvement of commercial maize hybrids has resulted in higher crop growth rates, which may be attributable to increased rates of photosynthetic carbon assimilation, decreased respiratory carbon losses, or both. The development of more efficient means of estimating maize leaf photosynthesis and respiration in field studies may help to clarify the physiological basis of genetic improvement of maize. The primary objective of the present work was to determine if chlorophyll fluorometry could be used to estimate maize leaf photosynthetic rates in the field. This was accomplished by making simultaneous measurements of gross photosynthetic CO... |
