Journal article
Can a wheat cultivar with high transpiration efficiency maintain its yield advantage over a near-isogenic cultivar under elevated CO 2?
S Tausz-Posch, S Seneweera, RM Norton, GJ Fitzgerald, M Tausz
Field Crops Research | Published : 2012
Abstract
This study investigated whether yield advantages of the wheat cultivar 'Drysdale' (selected for high transpiration efficiency) over recurrent parent 'Hartog' (low transpiration efficiency) are maintained under future atmospheric CO 2. Growth, yield and yield components at three developmental stages (stem elongation, anthesis, maturity) were evaluated at two CO 2 concentrations (ambient, a[CO 2], ~390μmolmol -1 and elevated, e[CO 2], ~550μmolmol -1). Growth under e[CO 2] stimulated yield and above ground biomass on average by ~18%. 'Hartog' compared to 'Drysdale' had significantly greater crop growth rate (~14%), above ground biomass (~15%), leaf area index (~25%) and tiller numbers (~16%) du..
View full abstractGrants
Funding Acknowledgements
Research at the Australian Grains Free Air Carbon dioxide Enrichment (AGFACE) facility is jointly run by the Victorian State Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and the University of Melbourne (UM), and receives crucial funding support by the Australian Commonwealth Department for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). ST-P gratefully acknowledges a University of Melbourne Early Career Researcher Grant. We wish to thank M. Mollah, senior research engineer (DPI), for operating the facility, and R. Argall (senior technical officer DPI) with the whole AGFACE support team for running and maintaining the AGFACE facility. Our thanks go to the technical support officers P. Howie (UM), J. Briggs, J. Ellifson, J. Ellis (all DPI) and research students N. Fernando, R. Lam, L. Thilakarathne (all UM) for lending a hand to the field sampling campaigns.