Comparison of Interior Canopy Air Temperature and Humidity among Sugar Beet Genotypes (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris)

Japan Agricultural Research Quarterly
ISSN 00213551
NII recode ID (NCID) AA0068709X
Full text

We investigated differences in interior canopy microclimate between first filial generation (F1) plants and their parental lines. Our findings suggested genotype-dependent variations in the interior canopy air temperature (Ta_in), interior canopy relative humidity (RH_in), and interior canopy vapor pressure deficit (VPD_in). The magnitude and patterns of these differences varied annually and seasonally, with F1 plants demonstrating lower Ta_in, higher RH_in, and lower VPD_in than their parental lines. Similarly, we investigated the interior canopy absolute humidity (AH_in) and interior canopy humidity deficit (HD_in). AH_in showed no clear difference between the F1s and parental lines, but the F1 plants exhibited a lower HD_in. Consequently, heterosis may have indirectly influenced sugar beet growth. We hypothesized that these microclimatic factors were associated with differences in the leaf area index (LAI) among genotypes. We assessed the relationships between LAI and Ta_in, AH_in, and HD_in and found a significant correlation ( p < 0.05) between HD_in and LAI at 78 d after transplanting (DAT), but not for Ta_in ( p = 0.11) or AH_in (ns) at 79-81 DAT in 2017. No significant relationships were observed between any of these parameters at 97-99 DAT in 2018; however, Ta_in showed a slight correlation ( p = 0.12). Two factors may explain this year-to-year difference. First, the LAI at 97 DAT in 2018 was lower than that at 78 DAT in 2017, suggesting differences in canopy closure, which likely made vertical exchange easier in 2018. Second, it is possible that wind speeds differed on the observation days. Analysis of wind speeds during the same period suggested that the average wind speed in 2018 was higher than that in 2017. Further research is required to explore the interrelationships among the other factors.

Date of issued
Creator Yasuhiro USUI Kazunori TAGUCHI Masayuki HIRAFUJI
Subject relative humidity F1 plants
Publisher Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences
Received Date 2025-10-14
Accepted Date 2026-02-06
Available Online
NII resource type vocabulary Journal Article
Volume 60
Issue 4
spage 317
epage 328
DOI 10.6090/jarq.25S11
Language eng