Crop Photosynthesis, Volume 12

Foreword (N.E. Good). Preface (N.R. Baker, H. Thomas). List of contributors. 1. Canopy establishment: light capture and loss by crop canopies (C.K. Ong, J.L. Monteith). 2. Canopy survival (H. Thomas). 3. Modelling canopy photosynthetic productivity (Y.P. Wang, R.E. McMurtrie, J.J. Landsberg). 4. Photosynthetic CO2 assimilation and rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations (S.P. Long, B.G Drake). 5. Carbon and nitrogen budgets within the plant (R.J. Simpson). 6. Interactions between carbon and nitrogen nutrition processes (G.J.A. Ryle, I.A. Davidson, J.H. Macduff). 7. Balance in the source-sink system: a factor in crop productivity (D.R. Geiger, J.C. Servaites, W-J. Shieh). 8. Mechanisms of sugar translocation (A.J.E. van Bel). 9. Plant growth and water use efficiency (W.J. Davies, J.S. Pereira). 10. Leaf cell expansion (E. Van Volkenburgh). 11. Interception of light by leaves (L.O. Björn). 12. Photomorphogenesis in the natural light environment: implications for crop photosynthesis (H. Smith, I. Gilbert). 13. Light and crop photosynthetic performance (N.R. Baker, D.R. Ort). 14. The molecular basis of mesophyll cell development (H.J. Ougham, D. Francis). 15. Regulation of gene expression and plastid development (E. Kruse, K. Kloppstech). 16. Chloroplast replication (S.A. Boffey). 17. Carbon and nitrogen metabolism: interactions during leaf development (A.K. Tobin). 18. Chloroplast senescence (P. Matile). Subject Index.

Since photosynthetic performance is a fundamental determinant of yield in the vast majority of crops, an understanding of the factors limiting photosynthetic productivity has a crucial role to play in crop improvement programmes.

Photosynthesis, unlike the majority of physiological processes in plants, has been the subject of extensive studies at the molecular level for many years. This reductionist approach has resulted in the development of an impressive and detailed understanding of the mechanisms of light capture, energy transduction and carbohydrate biosynthesis, processes that are clearly central to the success of the plant and the productivity of crops.

This volume examines in the widest context the factors determining the photosynthetic performance of crops. The emphasis throughout the book is on the setting for photosynthesis rather than the fundamental process itself.

The book will prove useful to a wide range of plant scientists, and will encourage a more rapid integration of disciplines in the quest to understand and improve the productivity of crops by the procedures of classical breeding and genetic manipulation.