Effects of increased levels of atmospheric CO2 and high temperatures on rice growth and quality

Abstract

The increased atmospheric temperatures resulting from the increased concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) have had a profound influence on global rice production. China serves as an important area for producing and consuming rice. Therefore, exploring the effects of the simultaneously rising levels of atmospheric CO2 and temperatures on rice growth and quality in the future is very important. The present study was designed to measure the most important aspects of variation for rice-related physiological, ecological and quality indices in different growing periods under a simultaneous increase of CO2 and temperature, through simulation experiments in climate-controlled growth chambers, with southern rice as the study object. The results indicated that the ecological indices, rice phenology, and leaf area would decrease under a simultaneous increase of CO2 and temperature. For the physiological indices, Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels increased significantly in the seedling period. However, it showed the trend of increase and subsequent decrease in the heading and filling periods. In addition, the decomposition of soluble protein (SP) and soluble sugar (SS) accelerated in filling period. The rice quality index of the Head Rice Rate showed the decreasing trend and subsequent increase, but the Chalky Rice Rate and Protein Content indices gradually decreased while the Gel Consistency gradually increased.