Stomatal Conductance Is Essential for Higher Yield Potential of C₃Crops

The present review of gas-exchange studies conducted in rainfed or irrigated field conditions clearly indicates that stomatal conductance (gs) of major crops has been inadvertently increased in the last 50 to 80 years as higher yields were being reached through conventional plant breeding. These findings suggest that high gs rates are critical to optimum growth and yield of modern crops, in particular to crop growth rate (CGR) during seed...