Abstract
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Yitpi) was grown under field conditions in the Australian Grains Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (AGFACE) facility during the 2008 and 2009 growing seasons. Current atmospheric (384 μmol mol−1) and elevated CO2 concentration (550 μmol mol−1) were combined with two different times of sowing (TOS). The “normal sowing” date (TOS1) contrasted with “late sowing” (TOS2) to provide different growing conditions including higher temperatures during grain filling. Nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) concentrations and N/S ratios were analyzed in mature grains. Elevated CO2 concentration significantly reduced grain N by 12.3% and 13.1%, and S concentration by 4.8% and 9.9% in the 2008 and 2009 growing seasons, respectively. The largest reduction in grain N and S concentrations at elevated CO2 relative to ambient CO2 concentration was observed at TOS2. Regardless of CO2 concentration, TOS2 increased grain N concentration by 42.7% and 16.5%, and S concentration by 26.7% and 18.8% in 2008 and 2009, respectively. As a result, N/S ratio was reduced by 7.6% under elevated CO2 concentration in 2008 and the trend was similar in 2009. Overall, our results suggest that both elevated CO2 concentration and TOS are likely to modify grain S and N concentrations and ratios, which play an important role in determining the nutritive value and baking quality of wheat grain.
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Acknowledgements
Research at the Australian Grains Free Air CO2 Enrichment (AGFACE) facility is jointly run by the Victorian State Department of Primary Industries and the University of Melbourne. The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support by the Australian Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), and the International Plant Nutrition Institute. We thank Mahabubur Mollah, research engineer, for operating the AGFACE facilities, and Ivan Mock for site management in Walpeup. Peter Howie, Cassandra Walker, Nathan Neumann, and Russel Argall and the AGFACE team are gratefully acknowledged for their technical support.
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Fernando, N., Panozzo, J., Tausz, M., Norton, R.M., Fitzgerald, G., Seneweera, S. (2012). Elevated Atmospheric CO2 Affects Grain Sulfur Concentration and Grain Nitrogen/Sulfur Ratio of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In: De Kok, L., et al. Sulfur Metabolism in Plants. Proceedings of the International Plant Sulfur Workshop, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4450-9_28
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4450-9_28
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