Project Grant 20246801641535

THE STATE OF FLORIDA HAS SET AN ALL-TIME RECORD FOR MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES, AN OCCURRENCE THAT WILL BE COMMON IN THE NEAR FUTURE. THIS RECORD-SETTING WARM 2023 SHOULD HAVE YIELDED THE MOST HEAT TOLERANT CROPS BECAUSE PLANTS CAN BECOME MORE TOLERANT TO HEAT WHEN THEY DEVELOP UNDER WARMER CONDITIONS. YET, A HEATWAVE ON AUGUST 13TH LED TO DAMAGE IN A RANGE OF FORAGING CROPS ACROSS THE STATE OF FLORIDA, FIRST NOTED IN SILAGE CORN. SILAGE CORN IS THE BASE CATTLE FOOD FOR ABOUT 60% OF FLORIDA MILK PRODUCTION WHICH REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO FLORIDA'S ANNUAL AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY. THIS PROJECT'S GOAL IS TO CAPITALIZE ON THIS UNPRECEDENTED WARM YEAR FOLLOWED BY A DAMAGING HEATWAVE TO STUDY THE LIMITS OF CROP RESISTANCE TO EXTREME WARMING ON OUR PLANET, ITS IMPACTS ON PRODUCTIVITY, AND HOW TO BEST IDENTIFY HEAT-RESISTANT VARIETIES. WE WILL CHARACTERIZE THE IMPACTS OF THIS HEATWAVE ON CROP PRODUCTION AND QUALITY ACROSS FLORIDA AND QUANTIFY THE HEAT TOLERANCE OF THE MOST AND LEAST IMPACTED CROP VARIETIES TO IDENTIFY WHICH PLANT TRAITS PREDICT RISK OF HEAT DAMAGE DURING INCOMING HEATWAVES. BY THE END OF THE PROJECT, WE WILL HAVE CATALOGUED WHICH VARIETIES, TRAITS, AND GROWTH STAGES OF SILAGE CORN ARE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE TO HEATWAVE STRESS AND USED THAT INFORMATION TO GENERATE TOOLS FOR GROWERS TO PREDICT CROP PRODUCTION AND QUALITY UNDER EXTREME HEAT. THE FINDINGS OF THIS PROJECT WILL INFORM GROWERS OF WHICH CROP VARIETIES WILL BE MOST AND LEAST TOLERANT TO INCOMING HEAT, THUS ENABLING BETTER DECISION-MAKING DURING EARLY AND LATE PLANTING SEASONS. ADDITIONALLY, OUR FINDINGS WILL GENERATE CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE MECHANISMS OF HEAT TOLERANCE IN CROPS, WHICH CAN OPEN THE DOOR TO IMPROVEMENT OF HEAT TOLERANCE FOR FUTURE PLANT BREEDING EFFORTS.