Lodging: Significance and preventive measures for increasing crop production

Abstract

Lodging is the displacement of stem and roots of plants from their proper and vertical placement either due to the higher N application, higher wind speed, excessive soil moisture, soil density, storm damage, sowing date or over plant population. Cereals are more prone to the effects of both root and stem lodging. Both type of lodging can occur singly or coincidentally but their effects on crop production overall reduces the health and harvest. The affected plant becomes weaker and tends to earlier seed production. This lowers the crop yield and nutrient content badly. The yield is more affected when lodging occurs at the ear formation stage of the crop. From a strictly mechanical perspective, stem lodged plants are harder to harvest and there is more waste. The selection of semi-dwarf varieties of cereals can minimize the ill-effects of lodging on crop production. Apart from, maintaining proper soil moisture, efficient drainage, minimizing or delaying nitrogen application, and use of growth regulators like CCC are effective towards minimizing the decrease in yield due to lodging.