New research published in the Journal of Experimental Botany reveals that wheat crops are more sensitive to grain yield losses from heat waves that occur before reaching their flowering stage than those occuring later. However, exposure to heat waves early in the growing season may reduce yield losses during additional heat waves through a protective “priming” effect.
A team of researchers from the University of Lleida in Catalonia, Spain, investigated the roles of heat wave intensity, frequency, and their timing relative to crop flowering during the growing season to identify how these factors interacted to impact wheat crop yield.
Heat waves are increasing in frequency and intensity around the world, and their durations are also expanding to cover more of the wheat crop growing season, which can include the pivotal flowering stage where wheat shifts from setting grains to grain growth.
This research demonstrates that heat wave damage in wheat depends not only on the intensity of the heat wave, but also when it occurs and whether the crop has experienced a heatwave earlier in the season.
“Most studies have examined heat stress as a single event, and have done so under controlled conditions rather than under field conditions,” says co-author Dr Gustavo Slafer. “We investigated whether an earlier heat wave could alter how wheat responds to a later one during reproductive development”.
Click here to see more...