Influence of Temperature on Diurnal Carbohydrate Assimilation

Research has indicated that there is a clear effect of temperature upon carbohydrate production.  Although many view the effects of higher temperatures as being an exclusive day phenomenon, recently it has been shown that increased night temperatures plays just as much a role.  Increased temperatures have a negative effect upon resource pools of available adenosine triphosphate (ATP) that drive carbohydrate production.  An increased number of oxidative enzymes are manufactured to counter the toxic effects of oxygen radicals that result from increased durations of heat.  Floral shedding rates are higher as carbohydrate resources are directed elsewhere.  The carbohydrate manufacturing process itself can decline under higher temperatures, further diminishing available stores of carbohydrates.  This research examines the relationship of many of the major cellular processes that underscore the larger outward expression of a cotton plant in carbohydrate distress due to heat.