Plants and environment: Two decades of research at the Canberra phytotron

Evans, L. T.; Wardlaw, IF; King, R. W.

doi:10.1007/bf02861084

Cited by 21 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 207 publications

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“…Although research conducted in laboratories and in controlled environments is useful in elucidating a specific plant physiological characteristic or mechanisms underlying certain biological processes and responses to environmental factors affecting growth and productivity, by themselves they are inadequate for creating some benefit to the farmer (Evans et al,1985;Kramer, 1980Kramer, , 1981. Field research under representative environments and in relevant cropping systems using a broad genetic base must be conducted not only to verify findings in laboratories and controlled environments but also to generate essential information and insights concerning the real potential of crops under natural conditions as well as their responses to a specific limiting environmental factor ElSharkawy, 1993ElSharkawy, , 2004ElSharkawy, , 2005ElSharkawy, , 2006aLong et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological characteristics of cassava tolerance to prolonged drought in the tropics: implications for breeding cultivars adapted to seasonally dry and semiarid environments

El‐Sharkawy

2007

Braz. J. Plant Physiol.

126

114

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The paper summarizes research conducted at International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) on responses of cassava to extended water shortages in the field aided by modern gas-exchange and water-relation techniques as well as biochemical assays. The aim of the research was to coordinate basic and applied aspects of crop physiology into a breeding strategy with a multidisciplinary approach. Several physiological characteristics/traits and mechanisms underpinning tolerance of cassava to drought were elucidated using a large number of genotypes from the CIAT core germplasm collection grown in various locations representing ecozones where cassava is cultivated. Most notable among these characteristics are the high photosynthetic capacity of cassava leaves in favorable environments and the maintenance of reasonable rates throughout prolonged water deficits, a crucial characteristic for high and sustainable productivity. Cassava possess a tight stomatal control over leaf gas exchange that reduces water losses when plants are subjected to soil water deficits as well as to high atmospheric evaporative demands, thus protecting leaves from severe dehydration. During prolonged water deficits, cassava reduces its canopy by shedding older leaves and forming smaller new leaves leading to less light interception, another adaptive trait to drought. Though root yield is reduced (but much less than the reduction in top growth) under water stress, the crop can recover when water becomes available by rapidly forming new canopy leaves with much higher photosynthetic rates compared to unstressed crops, thus compensating for yield losses with final yields approaching those in well-watered crops. Cassava can extract slowly water from deep soils, a characteristic of paramount importance in seasonally dry and semiarid environments where deeply stored water needs to be tapped. Screening large accessions under seasonally dry and semiarid environments showed that yield is significantly correlated with upper canopy leaf photosynthetic rates, and the association was attributed mainly to nonstomatal (anatomical/biochemical) factors. Parental materials with both high yields and photosynthetic rates were identified for incorporation into breeding and selection programs for cultivars adapted to prolonged drought coupled with high temperatures and dry air, conditions that might be further aggravated by global climate changes in tropical regions. Key words: agriculture, breeding, canopy, carboxylation enzymes, C 3 -C 4 intermediate, ecophysiology, growth, leaf photosynthesis, Manihot sp., PEP carboxylase, productivity, stomata, water stress, yield Características fisiológicas da tolerância da mandioca a secas prolongadas nos trópicos: Implicações para o melhoramento de cultivares adaptadas a ambientes semi-áridos e sazonalmente secos: Este artigo sumaria resultados de pesquisas conduzidas no Centro Internacional para Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), sobre as respostas da mandioca a períodos prolongados de déficit hídrico, no campo, centrando-se em...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological characteristics of cassava tolerance to prolonged drought in the tropics: implications for breeding cultivars adapted to seasonally dry and semiarid environments

El‐Sharkawy

2007

Braz. J. Plant Physiol.

126

114

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“…Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the increasing availability of phytotrons gave plant physiologists unprecedented experimental control over the environment and that control generated new knowledge for plant physiologists, botanists, horticulturalists, ecologists, foresters, and agriculturalists. New knowledge flourished about the reaction of various plants to specific climatic conditions, or sets of conditions, and about photoperiodism, nutrient uptake and transport, germination and flowering, and photosynthesis (Evans et al, 1985;Galston, 1974;Murneek, 1948;Pennazio, 2005;Somerville, 2000).…”

Section: Plant Physiologists Basic Science and Big Biologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4 The first phytotron, officially named the Earhart Plant Research Laboratory, was the creation of famed plant physiologist Frits Went and opened in 1949 at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) (Kingsland, 2009;Munns, 1999Munns, , 2014. Subsequently, in just under thirty years, over thirty countries eventually built phytotrons, the largest examples being in France, the Soviet Union, and Australia (Evans, Wardlaw, & King, 1985). The Americans built the most, nearly a dozen, including the prominent examples at Duke, Yale, North Carolina State, and Michigan State Universities, as well as the national Biotron at the University of WisconsineMadison (Appel, 2000, pp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The phytotronist and the phenotype: Plant physiology, Big Science, and a Cold War biology of the whole plant

Munns

2015

Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in

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This paper describes how, from the early twentieth century, and especially in the early Cold War era, the plant physiologists considered their discipline ideally suited among all the plant sciences to study and explain biological functions and processes, and ranked their discipline among the dominant forms of the biological sciences. At their apex in the late-1960s, the plant physiologists laid claim to having discovered nothing less than the "basic laws of physiology." This paper unwraps that claim, showing that it emerged from the construction of monumental big science laboratories known as phytotrons that gave control over the growing environment. Control meant that plant physiologists claimed to be able to produce a standard phenotype valid for experimental biology. Invoking the standards of the physical sciences, the plant physiologists heralded basic biological science from the phytotronic produced phenotype. In the context of the Cold War era, the ability to pursue basic science represented the highest pinnacle of standing within the scientific community. More broadly, I suggest that by recovering the history of an underappreciated discipline, plant physiology, and by establishing the centrality of the story of the plant sciences in the history of biology can historians understand the massive changes wrought to biology by the conceptual emergence of the molecular understanding of life, the dominance of the discipline of molecular biology, and the rise of biotechnology in the 1980s.

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“…The extensive research conducted in phytotrons, such as the one called CERES (controlled environment research) in Canberra, Australia, have shown both its scientific and utilitarian value in complementing field studies (Evans et al, 1985). In addition, phytotron research at Duke University, USA, on photothermal effects on several crop plants has helped in elucidating the genetic control of flowering .…”

Section: An Overview Of the Role Of Physiological Research In Crop Immentioning

confidence: 99%

Utility of basic research in plant/crop physiology in relation to crop improvement: a review and a personal account

El‐Sharkawy

2006

Braz. J. Plant Physiol.

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Utilidade da pesquisa básica em fisiologia vegetal e em fisiologia da produção em relação ao melhoramento das culturas: uma revisão e uma análise pessoal: A pesquisa e o desenvolvimento agrícola têm função essencial no desenvolvimento econômico das nações, provendo segurança alimentar para uma população em constante crescimento demográfico. Em países desenvolvidos, as lacunas entre a produção potencial e a produção real são sobremodo estreitas, devido a uma combinação de tecnologias avançadas, novas variedades altamente produtivas e aplicação de agroquímicos em sistemas de produção altamente mecanizados. Na maioria daqueles países, a produção agrícola supera a demanda nacional, resultando em excedentes para a exportação. Em muitos países em desenvolvimento, entretanto, a produtividade agrícola está ainda muito abaixo de seu potencial devido a limitações técnicas e sócio-econômicas. Déficit alimentar é a norma em países pobres e subdesenvolvidos, os quais requerem vultosas importações de alimentos. Para aliviar parcialmente essa situação, pesquisas de cunho agrícola devem ser reforçadas. Como ramos das ciências básicas, a fisiologia vegetal e a fisiologia da produção têm sido freqüentemente criticadas por não traduzirem seus resultados de pesquisa em melhoria da produtividade. Este artigo é focado nesse tema, apresentando uma avaliação das realizações pretéritas da pesquisa fisiológica e de seus impactos sobre o melhoramento das culturas e sobre a produção de alimentos. Discutem-se deficiências e limitações de pesquisas isoladas e de pouca relevância, juntamente com opiniões do cientista sobre como pesquisas efetivas na área da fisiologia devem ser conduzidas e integradas dentro de equipes de pesquisa multidisciplinares associadas ao melhoramento vegetal. Exemplos de pesquisas de sucesso na fisiologia da produção e suas contribuições para aumentar a produtividade agrícola são apresentados. Todos esses aspectos apontam para a necessidade de pronto financiamento da pesquisa básica por setores públicos e privados de países desenvolvidos. Palavras-chave: agricultura, ecofisiologia, ecossistemas, estresse hídrico, fotoperíodo, fotossíntese C 4 , hormônios, melhoramento, produtividade, solo, tolerância à seca Agricultural research and development plays an essential role in a nation s economic development, providing for food security for an ever-increasing population. In developed countries, the gap between potential and actual yield is largely closed because of a combination of advanced technologies, high-yielding new varieties and the application of agrochemicals in highly mechanized production systems. In most of these countries, agricultural production exceeds national demand, resulting in excess products for export. In many of the developing countries, however, agricultural productivity is still far below what it should be because of multiple technical and socio-economic constraints. Food deficits are the norm in poor and middle-income countries, requiring expensive food imports. To partially alleviate this situati...

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Plants and environment: Two decades of research at the Canberra phytotron

Cited by 21 publications

References 207 publications

Physiological characteristics of cassava tolerance to prolonged drought in the tropics: implications for breeding cultivars adapted to seasonally dry and semiarid environments

Physiological characteristics of cassava tolerance to prolonged drought in the tropics: implications for breeding cultivars adapted to seasonally dry and semiarid environments

The phytotronist and the phenotype: Plant physiology, Big Science, and a Cold War biology of the whole plant

Utility of basic research in plant/crop physiology in relation to crop improvement: a review and a personal account

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