The Effects of Heat Stress on Cereal Yield and Quality
Peter Stone
Abstract
Myriad definitions have been used for the term heat stress, but here it is defined as a deleterious response to elevated temperature. For cereal crops, heat stress reduces yield or changes quality. Elevated temperatures that do result in one or both of these responses may be of considerable academic interest, but in the practical world of food production, it is ultimately yield and quality that count. Heat stress can be moderate or extreme in intensity, acute or chronic in degree, and can occur from before a crop has emerged to during maturation. It is little wonder then that the effects of heat stress on crop yield and quality are many and varied. While admitting the risk of advancing a circular argument, high temperatures may be considered to be those which lead to heat stress. The level and duration of temperature events that result in heat stress vary with crop type, growth stage, and the plant property in question.