Question

Effect of high temperature stress on crop production

Answer 1

Wheat is an important staple crop of tropical countries, and its productivity largely regulates the economy of the country. At the same time, high temperature is one of the major abiotic stresses in tropical countries like India that has adverse impact on development, growth and overall yield of wheat. At some particular stage of life cycle of wheat, even a little increase or rise in temperature can lead to a complete loss of crop yield. High temperature differentially affects various metabolic processes including the stability of various proteins and membranes and the effectiveness of enzymatic reactions in the cell via denaturation, resulting in metabolic imbalance. Heat stress-induced membrane and protein damage can result in increased reactive oxygen species and thus oxidative stress. High-temperature stress leads to decrease in photosynthetic rates by affecting photosystem II and Rubisco activity and hence influencing the yield. Effects of high temperature on various metabolic reactions with particular emphasis on photosynthetic processes have been discussed.