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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #97091
Title: CLIMATE CHANGE AND COTTON PRODUCTIVITY

Author
item REDDY, K. - MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIV.
item HODGES, HARRY - MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIV.
item Kimball, Bruce

Submitted to: International Agronomy Congress Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Cotton crops in the future environments will be subjected changes projected in the climate for which they were not bred. Our series of studies, using SPAR, OTC, and FACE experimental techniques and facilities, provided detailed insight on how cotton will respond to a changing environment. More carbon was fixed in high-CO2 grown plants at all levels of water and nutrient deficient conditions and across a wide range of temperatures. High-CO2 grown plants have greater stomatal resistance, but increased green leaf area offset that effect resulting in virtually no difference in canopy water-use. The developmental events of cotton plants such as floral initiation, flowering, boll opening, and leaf initiation are relatively insensitive to high-CO2. As cotton is very plastic in its growth, additional carbon available in a high-CO2 environment will favor more vegetative and reproductive growth across a wide range of conditions resulting in greater numbers of fruits and higher yield if temperature conditions are favorable for fruit retention.