Addressing the challenge of combined heat and drought stress for cereal production
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY OF READING
Department Name: Sch of Agriculture Policy and Dev
Abstract
Drought currently restricts global cereal production by c.10% and is projected to worsen with climate change.
Objectives: to increase understanding, and predict, the effects of combined drought and high temperature on crop yield. Second, to use this biological understanding to identify novel compounds that confer drought tolerance while avoiding increased susceptibility to heat stress.
Hypotheses
1) Drought increases plant susceptibility to heat stress and vice-versa
2) Stomatal closure compounds, antitranspirants, while reducing drought stress, increase risk of heat stress
Our PhD student will use a method we have developed for quantifying effects of heat and drought separately and in combination. We withhold water for different durations, allowing the soil to dry to specific moisture levels before exposing plants to temperature regimes in controlled environments. Plant responses are measured using three key variables: plant growth rate via multispectral 3D scans to provide detailed insights into effects of stress and different compounds on development; transpiration rate to understand effects of stress and compounds on stomatal closure; and leaf temperature (particularly the temperature difference between plants and surrounding air) to quantify stress.
Most work will be conducted on crop seedlings. The short timescales involved allow multiple trials and rapid screening We will subject plants to two subtly different types of drought treatment; i) withdrawal of water, to understand real world differences in stress experience (and real world benefits of compounds), ii) plants held at constant levels of soil moisture (e.g. via re-watering) to understand differences in physiology between compound treatments under equal levels of drought and heat. Once we have identified promising compounds we will conduct a trial on plants during reproductive development, which represents a realistic use case of the compounds in the field and brings us closer to the farm.
Objectives: to increase understanding, and predict, the effects of combined drought and high temperature on crop yield. Second, to use this biological understanding to identify novel compounds that confer drought tolerance while avoiding increased susceptibility to heat stress.
Hypotheses
1) Drought increases plant susceptibility to heat stress and vice-versa
2) Stomatal closure compounds, antitranspirants, while reducing drought stress, increase risk of heat stress
Our PhD student will use a method we have developed for quantifying effects of heat and drought separately and in combination. We withhold water for different durations, allowing the soil to dry to specific moisture levels before exposing plants to temperature regimes in controlled environments. Plant responses are measured using three key variables: plant growth rate via multispectral 3D scans to provide detailed insights into effects of stress and different compounds on development; transpiration rate to understand effects of stress and compounds on stomatal closure; and leaf temperature (particularly the temperature difference between plants and surrounding air) to quantify stress.
Most work will be conducted on crop seedlings. The short timescales involved allow multiple trials and rapid screening We will subject plants to two subtly different types of drought treatment; i) withdrawal of water, to understand real world differences in stress experience (and real world benefits of compounds), ii) plants held at constant levels of soil moisture (e.g. via re-watering) to understand differences in physiology between compound treatments under equal levels of drought and heat. Once we have identified promising compounds we will conduct a trial on plants during reproductive development, which represents a realistic use case of the compounds in the field and brings us closer to the farm.
People |
ORCID iD |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BB/T008776/1 | 30/09/2020 | 29/09/2028 | |||
| 2604662 | Studentship | BB/T008776/1 | 23/09/2021 | 22/09/2025 |