Taking Temperatures

摘要

Monitoring canopy temperatures can key irrigation and future hybrid selection. Dlants and people both fare best under normal temperatures. For humans, 98.6°F. is optimal; corn fares best when its leaf canopy is 87°F. "That is when corn has optimum photosynthetic capacity," says Jeff Schussler, a Pioneer Hi-Bred research scientist. "A lot of physiological mechanisms peak at that temperature." However, higher leaf temperatures, combined with limited soil moisture, lead to the telltale drought stresssign of leaf rolling. Abundant soil moisture can moderate a rise in leaf canopy temperature into the mid- to high-90°F. level. Once plant canopy temperatures rise above 100°E, though, serious physiological damage results, says Schussler.