Changes in carbohydrate levels during ice encasement and flooding of winter cereals

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Abstract
Carbohydrate levels and production of ethanol and malic acid were followed in the acclimated crown tissue of 4 cereal cultivars during ice-encasement and low-temperature-flooding treatments. Tolerance to both anaerobic stresses ranked as Lutescens 230 wheat > OAC Wintri triticale > Fredrick wheat > Siete Cerros wheat. All cultivars produced more ethanol during flooding than icing treatments. The winter cereal cultivars, Lutescens 230, OAC Wintri, and Fredrick, produced significantly more ethanol than the spring wheat, ''Siete Cerros'', but consistent differences among the winter cultivars were not observed. Malic acid was not accumulated after 7 days icing or 14 days flooding. The quantity of total available carbohydrate, total ethanol-soluble carbohydrate, and reducing sugars in the crown tissue was highest in those cultivars with high icing and flooding tolerance. In addition, the most tolerant cultivar, Lutescens 230, had a greater rate of carbohydrate utilization during stress treatment than the other cultivars. Nevertheless, the loss of plant viability after ice encasement of flooding was not associated with the depletion of carbohydrate reserves. Icing was a more severe stress than flooding, and differences are indicated in the utilization of carbohydrate reserves and production of ethanol during the 2 stresses.