Yield and partitioning in crops of contrasting cultivars of winter wheat in response to CO2 and temperature in field studies using temperature gradient tunnels

Abstract

Diverse cultivars of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were grown in the field in 1993/94 and 1994/95 at Reading UK in temperature gradient tunnels at normal atmospheric (c. 370) or elevated CO2 concentration (c. 700 μmol CO2 mol−1 air). In 1993/94, grain yield of cv. Avalon was insensitive to mean temperature (between 8·8 and 10·9°C), while elevated CO2 increased yield by 1·3 t ha−1 (12·6%). In all other cultivars, warming reduced grain yield and CO2 increased grain yield. In 1993/94, in cvs Galahad and Mercia the effects of CO2 and temperature on yield were additive. However, for cv. Hereward in both years and for cv. Soissons in 1994/95, there were negative interactions between the effects of CO2 and temperature on yield: the maximum benefit of doubling CO2 to grain yield, 4·5 and 2·7 t ha−1 (65 and 29%) respectively, occurred at cooler temperatures; there was no benefit from doubling CO2 (i.e. 0%) once the temperature had increased above the seasonal mean by 2·2–2·6°C in cv. Hereward and by 1·3°C in cv. Soissons. The beneficial effect of doubling CO2 on grain yield in cvs Galahad, Hereward, Mercia and Soissons was negated by an increase in mean seasonal temperature of only 0·7–2·0°C. Warming decreased root dry mass at anthesis in 1994/95 while it increased at elevated CO2 (49 and 186%, coolest and warmest regime, respectively). Carbon partitioned to roots declined progressively with warming, while at elevated CO2 there was an average of 56% increase in allocation to roots. The relative impacts of both CO2 and temperature were greater on root dry mass than on either grain yield or total above-ground biomass, while the effects on grain and biomass yield varied considerably between cultivars, suggesting that the impact of rising CO2 and temperature are likely to be dependent on cultivar.