Prediction of Inflorescence Emergence in ‘Yu Her Pau’ Litchi Under Climate Change Using an Optimised Model

ABSTRACT For litchi (Litchi chinensis), successful floral induction requires adequate cool temperatures in winter, perceived by mature leaves like many other subtropical fruit species. As a result, rising ambient temperatures due to global climate change has posed a threat to litchi flowering and fr...

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Main Authors: JenYu Chang, Lisa Tang, Chu‐Chung Chen, Yi‐Ting Zhang, Chi‐Ling Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-01-01
Series:Food and Energy Security
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.70032
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author JenYu Chang
Lisa Tang
Chu‐Chung Chen
Yi‐Ting Zhang
Chi‐Ling Chen
author_facet JenYu Chang
Lisa Tang
Chu‐Chung Chen
Yi‐Ting Zhang
Chi‐Ling Chen
author_sort JenYu Chang
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT For litchi (Litchi chinensis), successful floral induction requires adequate cool temperatures in winter, perceived by mature leaves like many other subtropical fruit species. As a result, rising ambient temperatures due to global climate change has posed a threat to litchi flowering and fruit production. The goal of this research was to assess the potential impacts of climate change on flowering in ‘Yu Her Pau’ litchi on Taiwan. To better characterise the relationship between temperatures and inflorescence emergence (IE), we built a model by applying the beta‐distribution function method with 12 phenological datasets (two orchard blocks for 6 years) recorded from field‐grown ‘Yu Her Pau’ litchi trees. For this predictive model, the minimum, maximum, and optimal temperatures that resulted in successful floral induction were estimated to be 0.0°C, 21.9°C, and 19.8°C, respectively; under these criteria, at least 60.37 units of cumulative cool temperatures are necessary for IE based on the historical data. Subsequently, the IE model was used to evaluate the likelihood of successful flowering in ‘Yu Her Pau’ litchi at four major producing areas on Taiwan during five decades from 2026 to 2075, respectively, under three separate climate change (emission) scenarios based on three General Circulation Models (GCMs) in. Our results, based on any of the GCMs, suggested that ‘Yu Her Pau’ litchi grown on Southern Taiwan could face poor flowering due to insufficient cool winter temperatures in the coming decade even in the emission scenario with very stringent mitigation effort, which can lead to serious crop loss in the near future.
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spelling doaj-art-6a47e12e37264ec5b3d92258a9f5981d2025-08-20T02:45:07ZengWileyFood and Energy Security2048-36942025-01-01141n/an/a10.1002/fes3.70032Prediction of Inflorescence Emergence in ‘Yu Her Pau’ Litchi Under Climate Change Using an Optimised ModelJenYu Chang0Lisa Tang1Chu‐Chung Chen2Yi‐Ting Zhang3Chi‐Ling Chen4Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture Taichung TaiwanUnited States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Appalachian Fruit Research Station Kearneysville West Virginia USATaiwan Agricultural Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture Taichung TaiwanTaiwan Agricultural Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture Taichung TaiwanTaiwan Agricultural Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture Taichung TaiwanABSTRACT For litchi (Litchi chinensis), successful floral induction requires adequate cool temperatures in winter, perceived by mature leaves like many other subtropical fruit species. As a result, rising ambient temperatures due to global climate change has posed a threat to litchi flowering and fruit production. The goal of this research was to assess the potential impacts of climate change on flowering in ‘Yu Her Pau’ litchi on Taiwan. To better characterise the relationship between temperatures and inflorescence emergence (IE), we built a model by applying the beta‐distribution function method with 12 phenological datasets (two orchard blocks for 6 years) recorded from field‐grown ‘Yu Her Pau’ litchi trees. For this predictive model, the minimum, maximum, and optimal temperatures that resulted in successful floral induction were estimated to be 0.0°C, 21.9°C, and 19.8°C, respectively; under these criteria, at least 60.37 units of cumulative cool temperatures are necessary for IE based on the historical data. Subsequently, the IE model was used to evaluate the likelihood of successful flowering in ‘Yu Her Pau’ litchi at four major producing areas on Taiwan during five decades from 2026 to 2075, respectively, under three separate climate change (emission) scenarios based on three General Circulation Models (GCMs) in. Our results, based on any of the GCMs, suggested that ‘Yu Her Pau’ litchi grown on Southern Taiwan could face poor flowering due to insufficient cool winter temperatures in the coming decade even in the emission scenario with very stringent mitigation effort, which can lead to serious crop loss in the near future.https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.70032floweringmodellingphenologysubtropical fruit
spellingShingle JenYu Chang
Lisa Tang
Chu‐Chung Chen
Yi‐Ting Zhang
Chi‐Ling Chen
Prediction of Inflorescence Emergence in ‘Yu Her Pau’ Litchi Under Climate Change Using an Optimised Model
Food and Energy Security
flowering
modelling
phenology
subtropical fruit
title Prediction of Inflorescence Emergence in ‘Yu Her Pau’ Litchi Under Climate Change Using an Optimised Model
title_full Prediction of Inflorescence Emergence in ‘Yu Her Pau’ Litchi Under Climate Change Using an Optimised Model
title_fullStr Prediction of Inflorescence Emergence in ‘Yu Her Pau’ Litchi Under Climate Change Using an Optimised Model
title_full_unstemmed Prediction of Inflorescence Emergence in ‘Yu Her Pau’ Litchi Under Climate Change Using an Optimised Model
title_short Prediction of Inflorescence Emergence in ‘Yu Her Pau’ Litchi Under Climate Change Using an Optimised Model
title_sort prediction of inflorescence emergence in yu her pau litchi under climate change using an optimised model
topic flowering
modelling
phenology
subtropical fruit
url https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.70032
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AT lisatang predictionofinflorescenceemergenceinyuherpaulitchiunderclimatechangeusinganoptimisedmodel
AT chuchungchen predictionofinflorescenceemergenceinyuherpaulitchiunderclimatechangeusinganoptimisedmodel
AT yitingzhang predictionofinflorescenceemergenceinyuherpaulitchiunderclimatechangeusinganoptimisedmodel
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