Effect of elevated temperature and carbon dioxide on grain quality of Rabi maize or winter maize cv. Raashi 4212

Rising levels of Co₂ and temperature are threatening global food security by affecting maize production and grain nutritional quality, one of the world's most important C4 cereal crop. The present investigation reports the impact of climatic change on nutrient attributes of winter maize(Zea mays L.) by growing it in open top chambers (oTCs) with Ambient [A], Elevated temperature [ET], Elevated Co₂ [EC] and Elevated temperature+ Elevated Co₂ [ET+EC] during Rabi (November-February) seasons of 2016–18 at ICAR-DWR Jabalpur, India. Proximate composition of maize under the influence of climate change revealed change in the range of nutritive (Energy) value (375.96 to 392.69kcal/100g), carbohydrate (75.55 to 79.41%), moisture content (9.29 to 9.97%), total ash (1.40 to 1.49%), crude fiber (2.20 to 2.48%), crude fat (3.85 to 4.78%), crude protein (6.75 to 9.87%)and total nitrogen (1.08 to1.58%). The mineral content ranged for P, Mg, Fe, Ca, Na, K, Zn, S and Mn was 279.66–286.62 mg/100g, 136.88–147.12 mg/100g, 2.81–3.47 mg/100g, 174.77–180.95 mg/100g, 48.72–66.80 mg/100g, 275.94–286.75 mg/100g, 1.98–2.78 mg/100g, 115.95–118.44 mg/100g and 0.36–0.68 mg/100g, respectively. We expect it to be deeply useful to future studies, such as efforts to understand the impacts of elevated atmospheric Co₂, elevated temperature individually and in combination on crop macro- and micronutrient concentrations, or attempts to alleviate harmful effects of these changes for the billions of people who depend on these crops for essential nutrients.