The effect of temperature stress on grain development in wheat

Abstract

Experiments were conducted in controlled environments to determine the effects of high temperatures on grain development and yield in wheat. Two Australian and three Indian cultivars of wheat were exposed, from a week after anthesis until maturity, to "day" temperatures of 25, 28, and 3l°C, and "night" temperatures of 9 and 12°C. There was a mean reduction in yield of 16%' for the 6° rise in day temperature, but the cultivars did not differ significantly in their response to these temperatures. There were no significant effects of night temperature on grain weight, but stem weight was less at 12°C. Senescence was hastened only slightly by high day temperature, and there were no differential effects between cultivars in this respect.In a subsidiary experiment one Indian and five Australian cultivars were subjected to three day-night temperature regimes (24/19°, 27/22°, and 30/25°C). Highly significant but complex interactions were established between temperature regime and cultivar. A growth analysis for the Australian cultivars Ridley and Diadem indicated that the developing grain of Ridley had a greater capacity for growth than that of Diadem from the earliest stage. This, together with the confirmation of grain size as a very stable characteristic for all the varieties, points to the developmental and synthetic activity of the grain as an important determinant of grain yield. The relevance of this study to the production of wheat in India is briefly discussed.