Effect of temperature stress on the early vegetative development of Brassica oleracea L.

Background: Due to its biennual life cycle Brassica oleracea is especially exposed to seasonal changes in temperature that could limit its growth and fitness. Thermal stress could limit plant growth, leaf development and photosynthesis. We evaluated the performance of two local populations of Brassica oleracea: one population of cabbage (Brassica oleracea capitata group) and one population of kale (Brassica oleracea acephala group) under limiting low and high temperatures. Results: There were differences between crops and how they responded to high and low temperature stress. Low temperatures especially affect photosynthesis and fresh weight. Stomatal conductance and the leaf water content were dramatically reduced and plants produce smaller and thicker leaves. Under high temperatures there was a reduction of the weight that could be associated to a general impairment of the photosynthetic activity. Conclusions: Although high temperatures significantly reduced the dry weight of seedlings, in general terms, low temperature had a higher impact in Brassica oleracea physiology than high temperature. Interestingly, our results suggest that the capitata population is less sensitive to changes in air temperature than the acephala population.