Yield, growth and grain nitrogen response to elevated CO2 in six lentil (Lens culinaris) cultivars grown under Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) in a semi-arid environment

M. Bourgault*, J. Brand, S. Tausz-Posch, R. D. Armstrong, G. L. O'Leary, G. J. Fitzgerald, M. Tausz

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Atmospheric CO2 concentrations ([CO2]) are predicted to increase from current levels of about 400 ppm to reach 550 ppm by 2050. The direct benefits of elevated [CO2] (e[CO2]) to plant growth appear to be greater under low rainfall conditions, but there are few field (Free Air CO2 Enrichment or FACE) experimental set-ups that directly address semi-arid conditions. The objectives of this study were to investigate the following research questions: 1) What are the effects of e[CO2] on the growth and grain yield of lentil (Lens culinaris) grown under semi-arid conditions under FACE? 2) Does e[CO2] decrease grain nitrogen in lentil? and 3) Is there genotypic variability in the response to e[CO2] in lentil cultivars? Elevated [CO2] increased yields by approximately 0.5 t ha−1 (relative increase ranging from 18 to 138%) by increasing both biomass accumulation (by 32%) and the harvest index (by up to 60%). However, the relative response of grain yield to e[CO2] was not consistently greater under dry conditions and might depend on water availability post-flowering. Grain nitrogen concentration was significantly reduced by e[CO2] under the conditions of this experiment. No differences were found between the cultivars selected in the response to elevated [CO2] for grain yield or any other parameters observed despite well expressed genotypic variability in many traits of interest. Biomass accumulation from flowering to maturity was considerably increased by elevated [CO2] (a 50% increase) which suggests that the indeterminate growth habit of lentils provides vegetative sinks in addition to reproductive sinks during the grain-filling period.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)50-58
Number of pages9
JournalEuropean Journal of Agronomy
Volume87
Early online date20 May 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2017

Keywords

  • Climate change adaptation
  • Physiological pre-breeding
  • Source-sink relationships
  • Terminal drought

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Agronomy and Crop Science
  • Soil Science
  • Plant Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Yield, growth and grain nitrogen response to elevated CO2 in six lentil (Lens culinaris) cultivars grown under Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) in a semi-arid environment'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this