Assessing the Role of Crop Rotation in Shaping Foliage Characteristics and Leaf Gas Exchange Parameters for Winter Wheat

Abstract

Properly designed crop rotation enriches the diversity of the agroecosystem, which has a favorable effect on the environmental properties and crop yield. The experiment assessed winter wheat cultivated under the following crop rotations: A. winter rape + catch crop − spring barley − field pea − winter wheat; B. winter rape − winter wheat + catch crop − field pea − winter wheat; C. winter rape + catch crop − field pea − winter wheat − winter wheat; D. winter rape − winter wheat + catch crop − spring barley − winter wheat. The aim of the study was to investigate: (i) whether the cultivation of wheat in crop rotations following forecrops of rape, pea, barley, and wheat will affect its foliage and photosynthesis; (ii) how the photosynthetic process will affect the wheat yield. At the stem elongation stage (BBCH 36) and at the heading stage (BBCH 58), the following were investigated: foliage features, photosynthetic parameters, and the above-ground biomass; while at the BBCH 89 stage, the grain yield was investigated. It was demonstrated that photosynthesis was most intense under crop rotation A (the highest stomatal conductance, transpiration, intercellular CO2 concentration, and net assimilation rate ranged from 13.1–29.7 μmol CO2∙m−2·s−1). This was reflected in the above-ground biomass volume (1245–1634 g m−2) and grain yield (4.58–7.65 t ha−1). The cultivation of wheat following wheat under crop rotation C and following barley under D had a negative effect on both the foliage and photosynthetic parameters.