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Climatic warming is often predicted to reduce wheat yield and grain quality in China. However, direct evidence is still lacking. We conducted a three-year experiment with a Free Air Temperature Increase (FATI) facility to examine the responses of winter wheat growth and plant N accumulation to a moderate temperature increase of 1.5°C predicted to prevail by 2050 in East China. Three warming treatments (AW: all-day warming; DW: daytime warming; NW: nighttime warming) were applied for an entire growth period. Consistent warming effects on wheat plant were recorded across the experimental years. An increase of ca. 1.5°C in daily, daytime and nighttime mean temperatures shortened the length of pre-anthesis period averagely by 12.7, 8.3 and 10.7 d (P<0.05), respectively, but had no significant impact on the length of the post-anthesis period. Warming did not significantly alter the aboveground biomass production, but the grain yield was 16.3, 18.1 and 19.6% (P<0.05) higher in the AW, DW and NW plots than the non-warmed plot, respectively. Warming also significantly increased plant N uptake and total biomass N accumulation. However, warming significantly reduced grain N concentrations while increased N concentrations in the leaves and stems. Together, our results demonstrate differential impacts of warming on the depositions of grain starch and protein, highlighting the needs to further understand the mechanisms that underlie warming impacts on plant C and N metabolism in wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recent crop model projections have shown that crop production may benefit from warming, especially in the high latitudes, but hard evidence is limited. In this study we conducted correlation and regression analyses of climate records of seventy-two meteorological stations and records of corn yield over the period 1965–2008 in Northeast China. It was found that over these forty-four years, the diurnal mean, minimum and maximum temperatures during corn growing season increased on average by 0.31°C, 0.42°C and 0.23°C every ten years, respectively. No significant change in precipitation was found, although differences between years were large. The daily minimum temperature was the dominant factor to corn production. Corn yield was significantly correlated with the daily minimum temperature in May and September. According to a regression analysis of the anomalies of corn yield and air temperature, a 1.0°C increase in daily minimum temperature in May or September will lead to an increment of 303kgha−1 or 284kgha−1 in corn yield, respectively. Corn varieties with longer growth duration will profit most from the climatic changes but agronomic practices may have to be modified to address expected weather extremes such as droughts and periods with heavy rainfall. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]