Grain yield and quality of wheat under increased ultraviolet radiation (UV-B) at later stages of the crop cycle

Abstract

SUMMARYThe increase of ultraviolet (UV-B) radiation could be a challenge for wheat production systems in Southern Chile, as in other areas. Previous reports have shown that increased UV-B radiation decreases wheat yield by affecting both grain number and grain weight. However, contrasting results have also been published showing no effect on wheat biomass and grain yield. In addition, little is known about the effect of higher UV-B radiation at particular periods of the crop cycle on grain quality traits. The objective of the present study was to evaluate grain yield, yield components and grain quality in response to increased UV-B radiation during key periods of yield component determination. Two experiments were carried out under field conditions in the Universidad Austral de Chile (latitude 39°62′S). Two spring wheat cultivars were exposed to two periods of supplemented UV-B radiation (280–320 nm): (i) between booting and anthesis, c. 20 days, and (ii) from 10 days after anthesis until physiological maturity, c. 40 days. Ultraviolet radiation was increased to levels of 3·8 and 4·9 kJ/m2/day in experimental years 1 and 2, respectively, by using UV-B lamps. At harvest, plants were sampled to quantify aboveground biomass, grain yield, grain number and average grain weight. In addition, protein and gluten concentration of grains were measured. Grain yield was not affected (P>0·05) by the UV-B increase at pre- or at post-anthesis treatments. Similar results were found for each yield component. In addition, grain protein and gluten concentration showed similar values in the increased UV-B and control treatments. Therefore, if increases in UV-B radiation take place during the latter stages of the crop cycle as is expected, the present results do not support the speculation that increases of UV-B radiation in Southern Chile will compromise wheat production systems.

Correlating physiological parameters with biomarkers for UV-B stress indicators in leaves of grapevine cultivars Pinot noir and Riesling

“…Literature research revealed that applied doses of UV-B radiation vary widely, both in terms of daily dose applied (e.g. 12, 13·3, 24, 49, 2·6 or 4·9 kJ/m 2 ) and duration of radiation treatment in general, ranging from 4 days to 12 weeks (Burchard et al 2000; Hofmann et al 2000; Nogues & Baker 2000; Alexieva et al 2001; Skórska & Szwarc 2007; Calderini et al 2008; Majer & Hideg 2012). The UV-B radiation reaching the earth's surface is much smaller than UV-A due to atmospheric depletion, but in the shorter wavelength of the UV-B region many biological responses are far greater (Madronich et al 1998).…”

Ultraviolet-B Radiation Alters Soybean Growth and Seed Quality

“…Each data point is mean of four replications and standard errors are shown if the values are larger than the symbols. have affected both uptake and translocation of nutrients as reported in other studies under UV-B treatments in soybean and other plants under UV-B radiation[25] [48][49].…”

Productive and biochemical responses of durum wheat to UV filtration

“…Moreover, UVB radiation decreased the area of the flag leaf (Li et al., 2000a) which contributes to grain filling for about 75% (Miller, ). Moreover, sensitivity to UVB radiation varies both between and within plant species (Hidema and Kumagai, ) and depends on plant developmental stage and experimental conditions as reported (Al‐Oudat, Baydoun, & Mohammad, ; Calderini, Lizana, Hess, Jobet, & Zuniga, ; Lizana, Hess, & Calderinni, ).…”

“…However, due to particular genotype‐specific responses, the effects of UVB radiation on wheat are still under discussion (Kakani et al., ; Kataria & Guruprasad, 2012a). Further, the majority of studies considered the effect of enhanced UVB radiation with lamp supplementation (Calderini et al., ; Li, Lilian, & Yanqun, ; Li et al., 2000a; Lizana et al., ; Yao, Chu, He, & Si, ; Zu, Li, Chen, & Chen, ), thus providing unnatural spectral radiation balance that can lead to unrealistic conclusions. On the contrary, only a few studies have been conducted for determining the effects of ambient UV (280–400 nm) radiation on wheat responses in terms of growth and yield by the exclusion of solar UV components (Flint & Caldwell, ; Kataria & Guruprasad, 2012a; Pal, Zaidi, Voleti, & Raj, ).…”