ABSTRACT

The photosynthetic productivity of a crop is determined by the efficiency with which the intercepted photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) is utilized for net dry matter production radiation use efficiency (RUE) in conjunction with the integrated amount of the photosynthetically active radiation intercepted during the crop cycle (which is determined by the canopy leaf area and its duration). Both the amount of radiation intercepted as well as the RUE may be affected by different abiotic stresses, water stress being the main factor limiting durum wheat yield.