Photosynthetic improvement of wheat plants University of Cambridge, UK

The light-driven assimilation of CO2 in photosynthesis is the primary determinant of the biomass of wheat. Total biomass achieved is a function of the total photosynthetic activity of the canopy over time. Evidence from free-air CO2 enrichment experiments (FACE) demonstrates unambiguously that increasing photosynthesis increases yield, provided that other constraints do not become limiting (Ainsworth and Long 2005). CO2 enrichment increases yield because photorespiration (Walker et al. 2016) is decreased and CO2 assimilation is increased. In grain crops, doubling the CO2 concentration increased grain yields by about 15%.