relies heavily on established grain-type soybean management guidelines; however, research to confirm or deny their appropriateness is lacking. One fundamental decision for growing a crop is to determine the target plant population density, hereafter
models. The choice of training systems should account for cultivar–rootstock, growing environment, and labor force availability. Rootstock vigor can determine if low–medium, medium–high, and high-density plantings are possible. For low–medium density, the
changed little over the last 80 years in the United States despite 6-fold yield gains ( Egli, 2015 ). The sink limitation has been largely overcome in grain corn by improving plant density tolerance (also known as crowding stress tolerance) and planting
density ( Maynard and Scott, 1998 ; Nerson, 2002 ). Although higher plant populations may result in increased marketable yield per unit area ( Paris et al., 1985 ), the number of fruit per plant and fruit size are often reduced ( Kultur et al., 2001 ). In
., 1993 ; Sandhu et al., 2020b , 2020a ). However, there are some challenges associated with intercropping, such as the management of competition for nutrients, water, and light, which varies with many factors, such as plant population density, resource
; Schultheis et al., 2007 ; Strang et al., 2004 ), little has been done to determine the optimum spacing for mini triploid watermelon to obtain the highest percentages of marketable fruit (packout) in the 3- to 8-lb range. Increasing watermelon plant densities
.5 million kg since 2016 ( USDA NASS 2022 ). Pumpkins can be grown throughout the United States. However, management practices differ based on the myriad of growing regions ( USDA ERS 2022 ). These management practices, such as plant density, must be
(Brainard et al. 2022; Macko-Podgórni et al. 2017 ). Recommended planting density for carrot cultivars also varies depending on market class. Fresh market cultivars are planted at densities as high as 3.0 million plants/ha, and processing market classes
influenced by planting density. Specific planting density recommendations from the United States cover a broad category of crops, including pumpkins and winter squash. For example, the National Center for Appropriate Technology sustainable agriculture program
and fewer basal branches) will increase mechanical harvest efficiency. To improve plant architecture, it is necessary to identify both optimal cultivars and planting density. Planting density is a cultivation practice that influences yield ( Locascio