Impact Of Spatio-Temporal Shade Dynamics On Winter Wheat Growth And Yield

During two growing seasons (2013-2014, 2014-2015), an artificial shade structure was installed on the experimental farm of Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech to evaluate winter wheat growth, productivity and quality under shade. During both seasons, global radiation (MJ/m²/days) at crop canopy level was measured with quantum sensors (CS300- Campbell Scientific Inc., USA – accuracy ± 5 % for the daily global radiation) and recorded every minute by a data logger (CR1000 - Campbell Scientific Inc., USA). These data are compiled at a daily time scale for each treatment (CS: constant shade, PS: periodic shade, NS: no shade) into the tables “<em>GR_2013_2014.txt</em>” and “<em>GR_2014_2015.txt</em>”. During the cropping season, we sampled winter wheat to assess aboveground biomass, dry matter dynamics, final yield, yield components (thousand grain yield, grain size, and spike per m²) and grain protein content. These data are compiled in the two tables “<em>sampling_2013_2014.txt</em>” and “<em>sampling_2014_2015.txt</em>”. Samples were taken from three adjacent sowing lines of 40 cm. To assess dry matter distribution (g/m²), wheat plants were subdivided into spikes (<em>DM_Spike_g_m2</em>) and straw (<em>DM_Straw_g_m2</em>), dried and weighed. The final yield is expressed in t/ha at 0% humidity (<em>Yield_t_ha_0%</em>). We assessed the proportion of grain size using 3 sieves: 2.2, 2.5, 2.8 mm (<em>Grain_weight_seive_2.2mm, Grain_weight_seive_2.5mm, Grain_weight_seive_2.8mm</em>). Thousand grain weight at 0% humidity was calculated on subsamples from the harvested plots (<em>TGW_g_0%</em>). Protein content (%) analysis was performed with near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy technique (<em>Protein_content_%).</em> Detailed information on the experimental design will be available in the following paper: “Impact of spatio-temporal shade dynamics on wheat growth and yield, perspectives for temperate agroforestry” in European Journal of Agronomy.