Translational research-mobilising photosynthesis research to produce higher yielding crops

摘要

1. Success at scaling up from laboratory research to application in the field depends on being aware of the constraints and other complications that are likely to arise as scaling up proceeds. Such awareness comes best from dialogue with people familiar with the performance of crops in the field. 2. While knowledge of the photosynthetic machinery in plants is immense at organisational levels from the gene, through organelles, cells and tissues to leaves, it is much sparser at the level of the canopy. Better understanding of carbon balance in canopies is essential to scaling up from the laboratory to the field. 3. This paper is an abridged version of ideas expressed in Passioura (2010).