Abstract
DROUGHT severely decreases grain yield in many cereal growing regions and the resulting fluctuations in world food supply have serious repercussions1. Crop breeders and physiologists are therefore studying varietal characteristics that may enable cereals to yield more consistently in drought conditions2. Very few precise field measurements show how drought affects grain growth, but procedures have been advocated to provide a more precise description of grain growth and a more rigorous examination of sources of assimilate used for grain growth3–5. We have used these procedures to analyse how the droughts of 1975 and 1976 affected grain growth of wheat crops in England and to define particular physiological traits which govern yield.
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GALLAGHER, J., BISCOE, P. & HUNTER, B. Effects of drought on grain growth. Nature 264, 541–542 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/264541a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/264541a0
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