First ‘lab in a field’ trial reveals sunnier side of climate change
S
cientists in Norfolk used heated fi eld plots to investi- gate the link between warm- er autumn weather and oilseed rape yields. The fi eld trial experiment was
the fi rst of its kind in the UK. Con- ducted by researchers at the John Innes Centre, Norwich, it found that warmer October tempera- tures lead to higher rape yields the following harvest. The crop was planted in au- tumn and harvested early the fol- lowing summer. It is known that warmer temperatures in October are correlated with higher oilseed rape yields – but the reason for this trend was unclear.
Rape is particularly sensitive to temperature at certain times of the year with annual yields var- ying by up to 30% as a result. Re-
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sults of the study revealed that October temperatures are surpris- ingly important for the timing of fl owering – and hence yield. Study author Steve Penfi eld
said: “Oilseed rape plants stop growing when they go through the fl oral transition at the end of October, and warmer temper- atures at this time of year enable the plant to grow for longer, giving more potential for higher yields.” “By establishing the link be- tween autumn temperatures and yield, our study highlights an ex- ample of climate change being po- tentially useful to farmers. Cold Octobers have a negative effect on yield if you are growing oilseed rape, and these are now rarer.” Temperature is critical for oil- seed rape lifecycle because it de- termines at what point the plant
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An aerial view of trial plots heated with cables to mimic the effect of warmer weather. [Photo credit: Phil Robinson]
goes through the transition from vegetative state to fl owering – with delays in fl owering being as- sociated with higher yields, said Professor Penfi eld.
This vernalisation process is well understood in the lab as a requirement of a prolonged expo- sure to cold temperature. But an increasing body of research sug- gests vernalisation might work differently under more variable conditions experienced by a plant in the fi eld.
In this study, the team used soil
surface warming cables to raise the temperature of fi eld plots by 4-8ºC, simulating warmer October temperatures. Two varieties of oil- seed rape with differing vernalisa- tion requirements were trialled. Lab tests on dissected plants showed that warming in October conditions delayed fl oral transi- tion by three to four weeks for both varieties. Genetic tests showed genes associated with vernalisa- tion in cold conditions were also highly expressed in the warm con- ditions.
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