Jun  Xu¹ , Fangqin  Shen³ , Jiayuan  Lu¹ , Xiaopin  Cheng¹ , Weijuan  Jia¹ , Jinghuan  Zhu²

1 Agricultural Technology Promotion Center of Pinghu City, Pinghu, 314200, Zhejiang, China
2 Institute of Crop and Nuclear Technology Utilization, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310021, Zhejiang, China
3 Agricultural and Rural service center of Caoqiao Street, Pinghu City, Pinghu, 314200, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
Triticeae Genomics and Genetics, 2024, Vol. 15, No. 6   
Received: 25 Sep., 2024    Accepted: 03 Nov., 2024    Published: 16 Nov., 2024

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Plant density, as a key agronomic factor influencing wheat yield, has a significant impact on photosynthetic efficiency, resource use efficiency, and final yield. Optimizing plant density is an essential approach to improving wheat yield and adapting to various environmental conditions. This study reviews the latest research on the effects of plant density on wheat yield, explores effective strategies and practices for optimizing plant density, and covers aspects such as density requirements of different wheat varieties, the influence of environmental factors on plant density, and the use of advanced technologies for precision density management. The findings reveal that different wheat varieties respond variably to planting density, with hybrid wheat, in particular, showing better adaptability under high-density conditions. Moreover, environmental factors like climate change, soil type, and irrigation management play crucial roles in determining optimal plant density. Adjusting seeding rates, row spacing, and employing precision agriculture technologies can optimize plant density, thereby enhancing the number of grains per spike, 1000-kernel weight, and harvest index of wheat. This study emphasizes the central role of optimizing plant density in achieving high wheat yields and proposes strategies and practices for future efforts in genomic selection, sensor technology application, and climate change adaptation. Optimizing plant density not only improves wheat production efficiency but also promotes the rational use of resources, thereby supporting global food security. 

Wheat; Plant density; High yield; Genomic selection; Precision agriculture