High-yielding dwarf plant varieties lose their advantage due
to increasing carbon dioxide concentration
The carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere continues to
climb and heat up the climate. The gas is, however, indispensable for plants,
as they use the carbon it provides to form glucose and other important
substances. Therefore, the more carbon dioxide the better? The equation is
unfortunately not as simple as that. The plants, which ensure our basic food
supply today, have not been bred for vertical growth but for short stalks and
high grain yields. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant
Physiology and the University of Potsdam have now discovered that an increase
in carbon dioxide levels could cancel out the beneficial effects of dwarf
varieties.