Levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) are rising, which experts predict could produce more droughts and hotter temperatures.
Levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) are rising, which experts predict could produce more droughts and hotter temperatures. Although these weather changes would negatively impact many plants’ growth, the increased CO2 availability might actually be advantageous because plants use the greenhouse gas to make food by photosynthesis. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry say that a much higher CO2 level could increase wheat yield but slightly reduce its nutritional quality.
Wheat is one of the world’s most important crops; its flour is used as a major ingredient in a large variety of foods such as bread, pasta and pastries. Previously, scientists have shown that elevated CO2can increase wheat yields at the expense of grain quality traits such as nitrogen and protein content. However, scientists don’t yet know the full range of grain quality changes that can occur at different stages of wheat development or the biochemical mechanisms behind them. Iker Aranjuelo and colleagues wanted to examine the effects of elevated CO2 on wheat yield, quality and metabolism during grain formation and at maturity.
Read more at American Chemical Society
Photo Credit: picjumbo_com via Pixabay
