According to a study, global warming is leading to lower yield and quality of rice plants. In the warmest climate scenario, yields can decline by as much as 35 percent and quality by as much as 85 percent.
The Organization for Agricultural and Food Research research in Tsukuba, Japan, chose the climatic conditions of the 1990s as the comparison period. Five Japanese rice varieties were examined.
The life cycle accelerates, quality deteriorates
It was shown that predicted strong global warming would significantly accelerate the life cycle of rice plants but have a negative impact on grain yield and quality, said the study, which was published in the journal ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ‘. ” (“PNAS”) ) has been published. Compared to high temperatures alone, an extra high CO₂ concentration further deteriorated production.
Growth chamber simulates environmental fluctuations
To investigate how rice plants – and therefore the rice harvest – are affected by climate change, the researchers used an artificial, custom-made growth chamber. Natural environmental fluctuations were simulated with powerful LED lamps, among other things. The growth chamber was fed with meteorological data from several years at different locations. The future warming scenarios were performed for a temperate region such as Tsukuba, Japan.
The growth chamber could help investigate climate effects on other rice plants and develop varieties that are more resistant to future environmental conditions, the researchers write. It could help reduce methane production in rice cultivation.
Source: Krone
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