Aijrfans14 219 by iasir journals

American International Journal of Research in Formal, Applied & Natural Sciences

Available online at http://www.iasir.net

ISSN (Print): 2328-3777, ISSN (Online): 2328-3785, ISSN (CD-ROM): 2328-3793 AIJRFANS is a refereed, indexed, peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary and open access journal published by International Association of Scientific Innovation and Research (IASIR), USA (An Association Unifying the Sciences, Engineering, and Applied Research)

Effect of elevated CO2 over Sugarcane crop

Kapil Madan1, D.S.Shukla1,Richa Tripathi1, Akanksha Tripathi2, H.D.Dwivedi3 1 Botany Department, MLK PG College, Balrampur 2 Zoology Department, MLK PG College, Balrampur 3 Botany Department, Shakti Smarak Sansthan, Balrampur Abstract: Sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum L.) were grown in open top chambers at advanced laboratory of Environment and Plant Responses at, PG Department of Botany, MLK PG College, Balrampur and exposed to ambient and elevated concentrations of CO2 in the 2011and 2012 growing seasons. Exposure to elevated CO2 increased fresh Juice yield by 24% in both years of the study.

I. Introduction The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen by approximately 40 parts per million (ppm) since 1958 and is expected to reach 550 ppm by the middle of the next century ( 1Houghton et al., 1992; 2 Schimel et al., 1996). This increase in the concentrations of CO2, the building block for the sugars manufactured by photosynthesis, has prompted considerable interest in the potential impact of elevated CO2 on vegetation and in particular on agricultural crops. Yield responses to elevated CO2, however, have been found to be species dependent. Species which feature good transport capacity and large sinks can best maximize the use of extra carbon fixed under elevated CO2 (3Schnyder and Baum, 1992; 4Korner and Miglietta, 1994).Sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum L.) is a species, which features both large and an efficient method of sucrose transport, important prerequisites for a large response to elevated CO2. The objective of the current study is to find out the effect of elevated CO2 over the major cash crop of India in modern polluted environment having naturally elevated level of CO2 and other gases. II. MATERIALS AND METHODS Gas generation and distribution- CO2 was stored in liquified form in a refrigerated tank and liquid CO2 was heated in a vapouriser after leaving the tank. CO2 was supplied continuously to the chambers within which concentrations were controlled by a feedback mechanism. An air sample from each open top chamber requiring CO2 control was drawn via a diaphragm pump into an infra-red gas analyser (Model WMA-2, PP Systems, Hitchin, Herts., UK) and the CO2 concentration regulated to the required concentration by adjusting the flow rate to the chamber by means of its associated mass flow controller. Sugarcane growing practice at laboratory and research field- Soil nutrient levels were determined by soil test after which fertilizer was applied at a rate of 250 gm NPK/ M2. The Sugarcane sets (Var. CO0228) were sprayed with an insecticide/fungicide mixture at approximately weekly intervals to prevent the spread of Red Rot and aphid borne viral diseases. The experimental as well as the control plants were irrigated with underground water at an interval of 15 days. The dates of important activities are given in Table 1. Year 2011

Date 14 & 15 Sep 20 November 25 November 5 Jan

Sugarcane sets planted in open top chambers Simazine 0.1 % Solution applied NPK applied@ 250 gms/M2 Final harvest

2012

10-12 Sep 10 Nov 28 Nov 30 Dec

Sugarcane sets planted in open top chambers Simazine 0.1 % Solution applied NPK applied@ 250 gms/M2 Final harvest

Table-1 .Time table of agronomic Practice Elevated CO2 Treatment-The concentration of carbon dioxide in the elevated treatments was 700 ppm which was supplied throughout day and night. In 2011 and 2012 CO2 was supplied, 25 days after the plant sets had been transferred to the open top chambers, until the final harvest.

Page 37

Kapil Madan et al., American International Journal of Research in Formal, Applied & Natural Sciences, 6(1), March-May 2014, pp. 37-38

III. Observations Fifteen plants were sampled at random from each experimental plot in the final harvest of 2011 and 2012.The length of plant was taken 1.5 meter from the soil surface. The following parameters were determined as per Table-2 Cocentration of CO2 Exposure

Year

Control Plants With ambient CO2 (About 350 ppm) exposure Experimental plants With 700ppm CO2 exposure

2011 2012 2011 2012

Total weight of plants (15 Plants) 14.6 Kg 15.2 Kg 17.1 Kg 18.7 Kg

Total fresh juice 9.8 Kg 10.3 Kg 12.1 Kg 12.8 Kg

Table-2 .fresh juice yield at different concentrations of CO2 IV. Results and Discussion Increasing the concentration of CO2 from 350 ppm to 700 ppm increased Sugarcane fresh weight as well as Fresh Juice yield by 24% in both years of the study. CO2 fumigation commenced late in the 2011and 2012 growing seasons, 25 days after the Sugarcane sets had been transplanted to the field site. The yield increase was attributable to the fact that the sugarcane plants, grew larger with respect to diameter and was classified into larger size grades in comparison to plants from the ambient CO2 treatments. It would appear that elevated CO2 altered the hierarchy of plants causing internodes to be favored as sinks for assimilate and others to be resorbed. Exposure to elevated CO2 increased stomatal conductance. This is a common response reported for C4 plants exposed to elevated concentrations of CO2. The explanation of the exact mechanism remains inconclusive. 5 Lawlor and Keys (1993) have proposed that a stimulation of CO2 assimilation in the stomatal guard cells at elevated CO2 concentrations competes for ATP with the ion transport process which transfers ions into the guard cells maintaining the turgor required to keep these cells open. Conclusion- About 24% increase in fresh juice yield was obtained after increasing the CO2 concentration from 350 ppm to 700 ppm (Double). With the increasing global CO2 concentration it will be relieving information especially for developing countries like India to take up cash crop like Sugarcane as main cash crop. Being a C4 plant Sugarcane crop was benefitted with elevated levels of CO2. Reference [1]. [2]. [3]. [4]. [5].

Houghton, J.T., Callander, B.A. and Varney, S.K (1992). International Panel on Climate change; the supplementary report to the IPCC Scientific assessment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 200pp. Schimel, D.S., Braswell, B.H., McKeown, R., O jima, D.S., Parton, W. and Pulliam, W. (1996). Climate and nitrogen controls on the geography and timescales of terrestrial biogeochemical cycling. Global Biogeochemical cycles 10: 677-692. Schnyder, H. and Baum, U. (1992). Growth of the grain of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The relationship between water content and dry matter accumulation. European Journal of Agronomy 1: 51-57. Korner, C.H. and Miglietta, F. (1994). Long term effects of naturally elevated CO2 on Mediterranean grassland and forest trees. Oecologia, 99: 343-351. Lawlor, D.W. and Keys, A.J. (1993). Understanding photosynthetic adaption to changing climate. In: Plant adaptation to environmental stress, (Eds. L. Fowden, T. Mansfield and J. Stoddart), pp85-106, Chapman and Hall, London.

Page 38