Life Sciences Commons^™

Spring Wheat Leaf Appearance And Temperature: Extending The Paradigm?, Gregory S. Mcmaster, Wally Wilhelm, D. B. Palic, John R. Porter, P. D. Jamieson

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Extensive research shows temperature to be the primary environmental factor controlling the phyllochron, or rate of leaf appearance, of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Experimental results suggest that soil temperature at crown depth, rather than air temperature above the canopy, would better predict wheat leaf appearance rates. To test this hypothesis, leaf appearance in spring wheat ('Nordic') was measured in a 2-year field experiment (Nunn clay loam soil; fine, smectitic, mesic Aridic, Argiustoll) with three planting dates and two soil temperature treatments. One temperature treatment (denoted +3C) consisted of heating the soil at crown depth to 3 °C above the …