Higher Grain-Filling Rate in Inferior Spikelets of Tolerant Rice Genotype Offset Grain Yield Loss under Post-Anthesis High Night Temperatures

Increased nighttime respiratory losses decrease the amount of photoassimilates available for plant growth and yield. We hypothesized that the increased respiratory carbon loss under high night temperatures(HNT) could be compensated for by increased photosynthesis during the day following HNT exposure. Two rice genotypes, Vandana(HNT-sensitive) and Nagina 22(HNT-tolerant), were exposed to HNT(4 ℃ above the control) from flowering to physiological maturity. They were assessed for alterations in the carbon balance of the source(flag leaf) and its subsequent impact on grain filling dynamics and the quality of spatially differentiated sinks(superior and inferior spikelets). Both genotypes exhibited significantly higher night respiration rates. However, only Nagina 22 compensated for the high respiration rates with an increased photosynthetic rate, resulting in a steady production of total dry matter under HNT. Nagina 22 also recorded a higher grain-filling rate, particularly at 5 and 10 d after flowering, with 1.5- and 4.0-fold increases in the translocation of ^(14)C sugars to the superior and inferior spikelets, respectively. The ratio of photosynthetic rate to respiratory rate on a leaf area basis was negatively correlated with spikelet sterility, resulting in a higher filled spikelet number and grain weight per plant, particularly for inferior grains in Nagina 22. Grain quality parameters such as head rice recovery, high-density grains, and gelatinization temperature were maintained in Nagina 22. An increase in the rheological properties of rice flour starch in Nagina 22 under HNT indicated the stability of starch and its ability to reorganize during the cooling process of product formation. Thus, our study showed that sink adjustments between superior and inferior spikelets favored the growth of inferior spikelets, which helped to offset the reduction in grain weight under HNT in the tolerant genotype Nagina 22.

Effect of Low Night Temperature Treatment on Sucrose Synthesis Ability of Tomato Leaves in Seedling Stage

[Objective] The aim was to explore the effects of low night temperature treatment on sucrose synthesis ability of tomato leaves in seedling stage.[Method] Effects of low night temperature of 6 ℃（with 15 ℃ as control）on the sucrose synthesis ability of tomato leaves were studied after 1,3,5,7 d of treatment.[Result] The contents of fructose,glucose and sucrose in tomato leaves were higher than control at 6：00 during the treatment of low night temperature,but in contrast at 11：00.The contents of fructose,glucose and sucrose in tomato leaves of low night temperature treatment and control group at 6：00 were lower than that at 11：00.The content of starch in tomato leaves was higher than control at 6：00 and 11：00 during the treatment.And the activities of sugar metabolism enzymes of tomato were changed by the treatment of low night temperature.The activities of acid invertase（AI）and neutral invertase（NI）were higher than those of control,while the activities of sucrose synthase（SS）and sucrose phosphate synthase（SPS）were lower than control at 6：00 and 11：00 during the treatment.The activity of all the enzymes at 11：00 of low night temperature treatment plants treated for 1,3,5,7 d was higher than that at 6：00.Compared to 6：00,the invertase activity of the control plant decreased,while the synthetase activity increased.The activity of sucrose synthase（SS）was decreased for treated plants,and the increase amount of sucrose content in leaves was lower than that of control at 11：00 during the treatment,indicating that the sucrose synthesis ability of tomato leaves was decreased by the treatment of low night temperature.[Conclusion] The results in this study had provided theoretical basis for the environmental control of high-yield cultivation of tomato.

Regulation of Calcium on Peanut Photosynthesis Under Low Night Temperature Stress

The effects of different levels of CaCl 2 on photosynthesis under low night temperature（8°C） stress in peanuts were studied in order to find out the appropriate concentration of Ca2＋through the artificial climate chamber potted culture test.The results indicated that Ca2＋,by means of improving the stomatal conductivity of peanut leaves under low night temperature stress,may mitigate the decline of photosynthetic rate in the peanut leaves.The regulation with 15 mmol L-1CaCl 2（Ca15） was the most effective,compared with other treatments.Subsequently,the improvement of Ca2＋on peanut photosynthesis under low night temperature stress was validated further through spraying with Ca15,Ca2＋chelator（ethylene glycol bis（2-aminoethyl） tetraacetic acid; EGTA） and calmodulin antagonists（trifluonerazine; TFP）.And CaM（Ca2＋-modulin） played an important role in the nutritional signal transduction for Ca2＋mitigating photosynthesis limitations in peanuts under low night temperature stress.

Effects of Increased Night Temperature on Cellulose Synthesis and the Activity of Sucrose Metabolism Enzymes in Cotton Fiber

Temperature is one of the key factors that influence cotton fiber synthesis at the late growth stage of cotton. In this paper, using two early-maturing cotton varieties as experimental materials, night temperature increase was stimulated in the field using far-infrared quartz tubes set in semi-mobile incubators and compared with the normal night temperatures （control） in order to investigate the effects of night temperature on the cotton fiber cellulose synthesis during secondary wall thickening. The results showed that the activity of sucrose synthase （SuSy） and sucrose phosphate synthase （SPS） quickly increased and remained constant during the development of cotton fiber, while the activity of acid invertase （AI） and alkaline invertase （NI） decreased, increased night temperatures prompted the rapid transformation of sugar, and all the available sucrose fully converted into cellulose. With night temperature increasing treatment, an increase in SuSy activity and concentration of sucrose indicate more sucrose converted into UDPG （uridin diphosphate-glucose） during the early and late stages of cotton fiber development. Furthermore, SPS activity and the increased concentration of fructose accelerated fructose degradation and reduced the inhibition of fructose to SuSy; maintaining higher value of allocation proportion of invertase and sucrose during the early development stages of cotton fiber, which was propitious to supply a greater carbon source and energy for cellulose synthesis. Therefore, the minimum temperature in the nightime was a major factor correlated with the activity of sucrose metabolism enzymes in cotton fiber. Consequently, soluble sugar transformation and cellulose accumulation were closely associated with the minimum night temperature.

The Effect of High Day and Low Night Temperature on Pollen Production, Pollen Germination and Postharvest Quality of Tomatoes

Temperature integration where high day temperatures are compensated by lower night temperatures is one strategy that can be used to reduce energy consumption in greenhouses. Crop tolerance to temperature variation is a prerequisite for using such a strategy. Greenhouse experiments were conducted on tomatoes cvs, Capricia, Mecano and Cederico in order to investigate the effect of different day/night temperature regimes (24/17, 27/14 and 30/11℃) where the same mean temperature was maintained for the production and germination of pollen. In addition, fruit quality as determined by fruit firmness, dry matter content, soluble solids, titratable acids, and pH was examined at harvest and after seven and 14 days of storage. The 30/11℃ treatment significantly increased pollen production and germination compared to the 24/17℃ treatment, while the 27/14℃ treatment was generally in between the other two treatments. Fruits grown at the 27/14℃ treatment were significantly firmer, while fruits grown at 24/17℃ had higher dry matter content, soluble solids, and titratable acids compared to the other treatments. There were significant differences between cultivars with respect to firmness, dry matter, titratable acidity, and pH. The quality of the fruits changed during storage, but the storability of the tomatoes was not affected by preharvest temperature treatments. The overall conclusion was that the 27/14℃ treatment was superior to the other two temperature treatments with respect to the studied parameters.

Fields experiments in North China show no decrease in winter wheat yields with night temperature increased by 2.0-2.5°C

The trends of daily maximum and minimum temperature in global warming indicated that the daily minimum temperature （Tmin） has risen more than twice as fast as the daily maximum temperature （Tmax） during the 20th century. Most researchers have focused on how the crops respond to daily mean temperature, whereas few controlled experiments were carried out to in- vestigate how the crops respond to the Train rise. In particular, no experiment research has reported on how crops respond to the higher night temperature, which was the main trend in the climate warming. Taking winter wheat as the test crop, we investi- gated how the winter wheat growth and yields responded to the higher night temperature. In the field experiments, infrared heaters were used to increase higher night temperature （HNT） by about 2.5℃ in contrast to the normal night temperature （CK） in two whole growth durations of winter wheat in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 in North China. The results indicated that, com- pared to the CK treatment, winter wheat yield did not decline in HNT treatment, which increased temperatures by 2.0-2.5℃ in both Wanner year （WY） and Colder year （CY）. Furthermore, winter wheat yield in CY increased significantly in HNT treatment. HNT treatment in CY could significantly promote tillering and increase the effective panicles, which increased grain yield significantly （by more than 30% compared with CK）. HNT treatment in CY contributed to an increase in the effective panicles and Kernels significantly, although making a significant reduction in 1000-grain weight, but did not lead to the yield decline. Under the HNT treatment, the whole growth duration of the winter wheat was shortened and the phenological dates were earlier except for the beginning of overwintering; the beginnings of the overwintering phase were postponed substantially and the ends of the overwintering phase were ahead of date compared to CK, which shortened the duration of overwintering considerably. We draw on our own studies to show examples of higher night temperature impact on winter wheat in a relative- ly cold year and relatively warm year in North China. Our results refer to winter wheat in North China, not all main winter wheat producing regions, in Huang-Huai and Southwest of China. Some uncertainties of our predictions derive from fast pro- gress in crop breeding, the variability of climate, and the role of adaptive actions in the future. As expected, the adaptation measures should be considered to cope with the impacts of global warming on crops, and further research and assessments should be conducted.

The Effect of Low Night and High Day Temperatures on Photosynthesis in Tomato

If low night temperatures can be combined with high day temperatures, providing optimal growth conditions for plants, a significant energy saving can be achieved in greenhouses. Lowering the night temperature from 18°C to 10°C-11°C for 8 h had no negative effect on the CO2 exchange rate (CER) during the following light period in tomato. This was found both in plants grown in artificial light only or in combination with daylight. Allowing the temperature to increase from 20°C to about 40°C, in parallel with an increasing solar photon flux density (PFD) from 0 up to about 800 μmol·m-2·s-1 in the greenhouse during summer, progressively increased CER when the CO2 concentration was maintained at 900 μmol·mol-1. At 400 μmol·mol-1 CO2, maximum CER was reached at about 600 μmol·m-2·s-1 PFD combined with a temperature of 32°C, and leveled out with a further increase in PFD and temperature. Maximum CER at high CO2 concentration was around 100% higher than at low CO2 level. Under early autumn conditions, CER increased up to about 500 μmol·m-2·s-1 PFD/32°C at low CO2 and up to about 600 μmol·m-2·s-1 PFD/35°C at high CO2. An elevated CO2 level doubled the CER in this experiment as well. Measurements of chlorophyll fluorescence showed no effect of low night temperature, high day temperature or CO2 concentration on the quantum yield of photosynthesis, indicating that no treatment negatively affected the efficiency of the photosynthetic apparatus. The results showed that low night temperatures may be combined with very high day temperatures without any loss of daily photosynthesis particularly in a CO2 enriched atmosphere. If this can be combined with normal plant development and no negative effects on the yield, significant energy savings can be achieved in greenhouses.

Growth promotion of interspecific hybrid embryos between Cucumis anguria and Melon(C. melo) by fruit heating

Wild species of the genus Cucumis, such as C. anguria, are resistant to various melon(C. melo) diseases such as Fusarium wilt race 1.2 and are anticipated as genetic resources of melon. However, in the interspecific crosses between C. anguria and melon, the abortion of the embryos was observed in the early growth stage and could not be regenerated even when cultured. Therefore, for embryo rescue, it is necessary to promote embryo growth during abortion occurrence. This study investigated the effects of fruit heating on embryo growth in interspecific hybrids of C. anguria and melon. In the heating device, the minimum night temperature around the fruit was maintained above 21.5 °C. The ovule grain area of C. anguria × MR-1 with fruit heating was significantly enlarged compared to that without fruit-heating. It was also significantly enlarged compared with the ovule grain area of C. anguria self-pollination. Although, in C. anguria × MR-1 without fruit-heating, no embryo was observed until 10 days after pollination(DAP), and pre-embryos were observed at 13 DAP. Conversely, in C. anguria × MR-1 with fruit-heating, pre-embryos were even observed at 10 DAP. These results suggest that the possibility of embryo or ovule culture regeneration has increased due to embryo growth promotion.