Enhancing the productivity of ryegrass at elevated CO(2) is dependent on tillering and leaf area development rather than leaf-level photosynthesis

Whilst a range of strategies have been proposed for enhancing crop productivity, many recent studies have focused primarily on enhancing leaf photosynthesis under current atmospheric CO(2) concentrations. Given that the atmospheric CO(2) concentration is likely to increase significantly in the foreseeable future, an alternative/complementary strategy might be to exploit any variability in the enhancement of growth/yield and photosynthesis at higher CO(2) concentrations. To explore this, we investigated the responses of a diverse range of wild and cultivated ryegrass genotypes, with contrasting geographical origins, to ambient and elevated CO(2) concentrations and examined what genetically tractable plant trait(s) might be targeted by plant breeders for future yield enhancements. We found substantial ~7-fold intraspecific variations in biomass productivity among the different genotypes at both CO(2) levels, which were related primarily to differences in tillering/leaf area, with only small differences due to leaf photosynthesis. Interestingly, the ranking of genotypes in terms of their response to both CO(2) concentrations was similar. However, as expected, estimates of whole-plant photosynthesis were strongly correlated with plant productivity. Our results suggest that greater yield gains under elevated CO(2) are likely through the exploitation of genetic differences in tillering and leaf area rather than focusing solely on improving leaf photosynthesis.