A 10-day heatwave at flowering superimposed on climate change conditions strongly affects production of 22 barley accessions

Extreme climate events are projected to be among the future most challenging constraints to plant development. Heatwaves as well as floods and droughts cause acute changes in the growth environment determining our primary production (Collins et al., 2013). Europe experienced extreme heatwaves in 2003 and 2006. In 2003, a 21 % decrease in the French wheat production was found from temperatures up to 6 °C above long-term means and precipitation being less than 50 % of the average (Ciais et al., 2005). One strategy to mitigate the this decrease from heatwaves is to identify resilient cultivars and incorporate them in breeding programs.