Factors Limiting the Rate of Dry Matter Accumulation in the Grain of Wheat Grown at High Temperature

Abstract

Increasing temperatures from 21/16°C to 30/25°C, during the period of development from anthesis to maturity, substantially reduced grain dry weight in wheat. Although this was associated with a shorter duration of grain development, the failure to obtain any compensating increase in the rate of dry matter accumulation, as occurs in the lower temperature ranges, was also considered important. There was no evidence that night temperatures were more important than day temperatures. Analysis of the movement of ¹⁴C-labelled photosynthate from the flag leaf to the ear indicated a faster rate of import of photosynthate by the grain at the higher temperature. However carbon lost through respiration is a component of the ear demand for photosynthate and it appears that increase in movement of photosynthate was balanced by greater respiratory losses. This additional carbon lost through enhanced respiration at high temperature could, however, only account at the most for 25% of the reduction in grain dry weight that occurred with the temperature increase from 21/16°C to 30/25°C. Altering either the demand for photosynthate by grain removal, or the supply of photosynthate by a defoliation and shading treatment, did not prevent the reduction in grain dry weight due to high temperature and this is a further indication that the temperature effect occurred mainly within, or close to, the grain itself, and did not result from an effect on the availability of photosynthate.