2021 Volume 59 Issue 1 Pages 13-19
To elucidate effects of climate change on growth and yield of crop plants, we developed a new growth chamber with an air-curtain shed roof. The chamber space was divided into two: one side followed outdoor temperature and the other side was several degrees higher than the outdoor temperature. Furthermore, we tried to assess the real temperature effect by achieving the same vapor pressure deficit (VPD) in two divided spaces and grew rice plants from seedling to maturity stages as an experimental material. For the high temperature (HT) plot, we adopted +4℃ of the outdoor-temperature-following (control; CONT) plot because, in a preliminary experiment, +5℃ of CONT induced sterility in most grains. The HT conditions advanced the day to flowering of rice, but its grain yield was lower than those obtained under CONT conditions. Trial of the same VPD under HT and CONT conditions suggested that the effect of VPD on rice growth and yield was not large during the June―October growth season.
