Photosynthesis of Coffea arabica after chilling

Net photosynthetic CO₂ exchange of 1-year-old plants of Coffea arabica L. was studied after the above-ground parts had been exposed once or repeatedly to night temperatures in the chilling range. Chill-reduced rates of CO₂ uptake (measured at 24°C and at natural CO, level) were observed after a 12 h night exposure to about 6°C. After exposure to 4°C, activity was reduced to less than half of that of the controls, and after exposure to 0.5°C the leaves suffered visible necrotic injury and were no longer able to take up Co₂ If the leaves were not lethally injured, net photosynthesis recovered completely within 2 to 6 days. About 25% of chill-induced reduction of CO₂ uptake was due to reduced stomatal aperture and 75% to impairment of carboxylation efficiency.
Chilling on successive nights at 4–6°C reduced CO, uptake progressively on each day following treatment. After 10 nights, activity was decreased to less than 10% of initial performance. Conditioning at temperatures slightly above the chilling level (e.g. 15/I2°C) for 2 weeks led to almost complete impairment of photosynthetic activity without additional chilling stress instead of improving chilling tolerance.