Plant Ideotype, Their Types, and Ideotype for Dryland Farming

An ideotype is a biological model which is expected to perform or behave in a predictable manner within a defined environment, and the selection of a crop ideotype is an important prerequisite for water-saving cultivation and high-yield breeding programs in dryland crops. There are various ideotype types viz., isolation ideotype, competition ideotype, and crop ideotype. The ideotype for dryland farming has the following characteristics: drought tolerance, short growth duration, effective root system, high yield potentiality with altered morphology, contrary to vertically disposed leaves horizontally disposed for better light interception most effective under irrigated conditions.