Drought resistance at the seedling stage in the promising fodder plant tedera (Bituminaria bituminosa var. albomarginata)

2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (10) ◽  
pp. 1034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Foster ◽  
Megan H. Ryan ◽  
Daniel Real ◽  
Padmaja Ramankutty ◽  
Hans Lambers

The perennial legume Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) C.H. Stirt. var. albomarginata (tedera) has been identified as a promising fodder plant for the southern Australian wheatbelt, but little is known about its drought resistance as a seedling. This study was conducted to (i) examine physiological and morphological responses to water stress of seedlings of tedera, in comparison with lucerne (Medicago sativa L.), biserrula (Biserrula pelecinus L.) and Afghan melon (Citrullus lanatus Thunb.), and (ii) investigate drought adaptation mechanisms of tedera seedlings. Seedlings were grown in a reconstructed field soil profile in pots in a glasshouse. By 25 days after sowing (DAS), plants of all species in the drought-stressed (DS) treatment had experienced water stress, with an average leaf relative water content (RWC) of 66% in DS compared with 79% in well-watered (WW) plants. Tedera, biserrula and Afghan melon maintained a higher RWC than lucerne. At 25 DAS, reductions in shoot dry matter in the DS treatment differed between species: 52% for Afghan melon, 36% for biserrula, 27% for lucerne, and no significant reduction for tedera. Paraheliotropic leaf angles of biserrula, lucerne and tedera were all higher in the DS treatment than in the WW treatment at 25, 32 and 52 DAS. This study revealed significant differences in rooting depth and stomatal conductance between the three legume species when under water stress, with tedera being the most drought-resistant. Traits that may allow tedera to survive a dry period following opening rains include vigorous seedling growth, early taproot elongation, effective stomatal control and paraheliotropic leaf movements.

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 159-165
Author(s):  
Peter Ferus ◽  
Dominika Bošiaková ◽  
Jana Konôpková ◽  
Peter Hoťka

Rhododendrons in numerous gardens in Central Europe are frequently endangered by adverse summer drought periods associated with the climate change. Therefore, in this work drought-resistance strategies in recent genotypes of these highly aesthetic shrubs were investigated. Dehydrated Rhododendron groenlandicum ‘Helma’, R. obtusum ‘Michiko’ and R. hybridum ‘Polarnacht’ showed high initial stomatal conductances (gS), after few days steeply falling to the stable minimum at ca. 20, 85 and 70% leaf relative water content (RWC), respectively. Except of ‘Polarnacht’, they had relatively large specific leaf area and ‘Michiko’ also free proline accumulation. On the other hand, R. repens ‘Scarlet Wonder’ and R. hybridum ‘Red Jack’ started with half gS values, continuously declining 1.5–2 fold longer compared to the first group of genotypes (RWC of ca. 60 and 75%, respectively). Both produced relatively thick leaves but did not show any osmotic adjustment. Among observed drought-resistance strategies, lower and longer period active transpiration with stomata sensitive to the water loss, as found in R. repens ‘Scarlet Wonder’ and R. × hybridum ‘Red Jack’, were accepted as the most effective for drought-affected rhododendron plantations.


2024 ◽  
Vol 84 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Javed ◽  
M. Iqbal ◽  
H. Bano ◽  
N. Hussain ◽  
A. Ghaffar ◽  
...  

Abstract Growth of plants is severely reduced due to water stress by affecting photosynthesis including photosystem II (PSII) activity and electron transport. This study emphasised on comparative and priority targeted changes in PSII activity due to progressive drought in seven populations of Panicum antidotale (P. antidotale) collected from Cholistan Desert and non-Cholistan regions. Tillers of equal growth of seven populations of P. antidotale grown in plastic pots filled with soil were subjected progressive drought by withholding water irrigation for three weeks. Progressive drought reduced the soil moisture content, leaf relative water content, photosynthetic pigments and fresh and dry biomass of shoots in all seven populations. Populations from Dingarh Fort, Dingarh Grassland and Haiderwali had higher growth than those of other populations. Cholistani populations especially in Dingarh Grassland and Haiderwali had greater ability of osmotic adjustment as reflected by osmotic potential and greater accumulation of total soluble proteins. Maximum H2O2 under water stress was observed in populations from Muzaffargarh and Khanewal but these were intermediate in MDA content. Under water stress, populations from Muzaffargarh and Dingarh Fort had greater K+ accumulation in their leaves. During progressive drought, non-Cholistani populations showed complete leaf rolling after 23 days of drought, and these populations could not withstand with more water stress condition while Cholistani populations tolerated more water stress condition for 31 days. Moreover, progressive drought caused PSII damages after 19 days and it became severe after 23 days in non-Cholistani populations of P. antidotale than in Cholistani populations.


1977 ◽  
Vol 17 (87) ◽  
pp. 598 ◽  
Author(s):  
MJ Fisher ◽  
NA Campbell

In order to understand more fully the effect of water stress on the growth of Townsville stylo (Stylosanthes humilis) (TS), five drought treatments, imposed by the use of rain shelters, were compared with an unstressed control in a field experiment. Droughts were imposed during the early vegetative (EV) and late vegetative (LV) stages, and during flowering (F) until leaf relative water content at 2.30 p.m fell to 60 per cent. Further unrelieved drought was re-applied to these three treatments when seeding was well advanced. The other two treatments were subjected to unrelieved drought, one starting at late flowering (LF) and the other seeding (S). The drought treatments had no effect on the final yield of dry matter compared with the control. Stress during the vegetative stage reduced growth, but the relief of stress was followed by a period of rapid growth which largely compensated for the loss. However, because the EV stress killed 40 per cent of the sward (the plants were unable to use water from depths below 75-1 00 cm), the compensatory phase in this treatment was less marked, but more sustained. Because of the decline in growth rate with approaching maturity, stresses during and after flowering had little effect on yield. Stress during vegetative growth hastened flowering by two weeks; however, pod yields were only reduced in the LF treatment. In general these observations demonstrate important aspects of the plants' good adaptation to the dry monsoonal tropics, and explain its stable long-term yields when maintained in near-pure swards.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Bolat ◽  
Murat Dikilitas ◽  
Sezai Ercisli ◽  
Ali Ikinci ◽  
Tahsin Tonkaz

The effects of different water stress (control, medium, and severe) on some morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics and bud success of M9 apple and MA quince rootstocks were determined. The results showed that water stress significantly affected most morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics as well as budding success on the both rootstocks. The increasing water stress decreased the relative shoot length, diameter, and plant total fresh and dry weights. Leaf relative water content and chlorophyll index decreased while electrolyte leakage increased with the increase of water stress in both rootstocks. An increase in water stress also resulted in reduction in budding success in Vista Bella/M9 (79.33% and 46.67%) and Santa Maria/MA (70.33% and 15.33%) combinations. However, the water stress in Santa Maria/MA was more prominent. The increase in water stress resulted in higher peroxidase activities as well as phenol contents in both rootstocks. Although catalase activity, anthocyanin, and proline contents increased with the impact of stress, this was not statistically significant. The results suggest that the impact of stress increased with the increase of water stress; therefore, growers should be careful when using M9 and MA rootstocks in both nursery and orchards where water scarcity is present.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kulkarni

AbstractWater stress is one of the major limitations to fruit production worldwide. Identifying suitable indicators, screening techniques and quantifiable traits would facilitate the genetic improvement process for water stress tolerance. In the present study, we evaluated the ability of physiological parameters (Transpiration, E; Fv/Fm; leaf water potential, ψleaf; leaf temperature, LT; and, leaf relative water content, RWC) to distinguish between contrasting Z. mauritiana clones subjected to a 30-d drought cycle. Four field-grown clones Seb and Gola (tetraploid) and Q 29 and B 5/4 (diploid) were studied. By 30 d after the onset of water stress treatment, the E, Fv/Fm, ψleaf and RWC of drought-stressed plants had declined significantly in all genotypes compared to values of well-watered treatments. However, the reductions were more severe in leaves of diploid clones. Under drought stress, the Seb and Gola, maintained higher E (31.5%), Fv/Fm (6.28%), ψleaf; (11.2%), and RWC (9.3 %) than Q 29 and B 5/4 clones. In general, LT of drought-stressed plants was higher (~4°C) than that of well-watered plants but the relative increase was greater among later than former ones. Under maximum drought stress, LT of Seb and Gola clones was on average 3.0°C lower than that of Q 29 and B 5/4. Former clones yielded 20% more than later ones, mainly reason being (14.8%) less fruit drop as an effect of water stress. The results indicate that presented parameters can be reliable in screening for water stress tolerance ability, with Fv/Fm, ψleaf, RWC and LT having the added advantage of being easily and quickly assessed.


2005 ◽  
Vol 56 (10) ◽  
pp. 1069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahram Mohammady-D ◽  
Keith Moore ◽  
John Ollerenshaw ◽  
Behrooz Shiran

Monosomic plants from an Australian variety (Oxley) having low stomatal resistance (SR), low leaf relative water content (LRWC), and high carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) were crossed with variety Falchetto having opposite characters in order to produce F2 backcross reciprocal monosomic families. The families were assessed under pre-anthesis water-stress conditions in a controlled growth chamber. F2 backcross reciprocal monosomic analysis suggested possible allelic variations between chromosomes 1A, 3A, 6A, 7A, 7B, 1D, and 4D of Falchetto and their homologues in Oxley for LRWC. This analysis also suggested possible allelic variation between chromosomes 5A, 1A, and 3A of Falchetto and their homologues in Oxley for SR. Extending the analysis to the F3 disomic generation and the assessment of LRWC at this generation confirmed that reciprocals for chromosomes 3A and 6A showed significant differences. F2 backcross reciprocal monosomic analysis for Δ suggested allelic variations on chromosomes 1D, 4D, and 5D. However, chromosome 1D from Falchetto had the highest difference from its homologue in Oxley. Assessing the reciprocals of this chromosome for vegetative evapotranspiration efficiency (ETEveg) at the F3 disomic generation indicated that the observed variation for Δ was translated into differences for ETEveg. These results indicate that chromosome 1D of Falchetto is promising in reducing Δ and that the improvement of wheat varieties for ETEveg can be done by selection for Δ. Finally, plieotropic effects of some chromosomes were observed for the characters under study. This suggests the existence of genetic factors on these chromosomes affecting more than one character. However, some pleiotropic effects could also be due to non-genetic developmental interactions.


HortScience ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 915A-915 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajeev Arora ◽  
Dharmalingam S. Pitchay ◽  
Bradford C. Bearce

This study evaluated the effect of reversible water stress on heat stress tolerance (HST) in greenhouse-grown geraniums. Water stress was imposed by withholding irrigation until pots reached ≈30% (by weight) of well-watered (control) plant pots, and maintaining this weight for 7 days. Control plants were watered to just below field capacity, every other day. Leaf xylem water potential (LXWP, MPa), leaf-relative water content (LRWC,%), media water content (MWC, % fresh weight), and heat stress tolerance (HST, LT50) were determined for control and stressed plants. HST (LT50), defined as temperature causing half-maximal percent injury, was based on electrolyte leakage from leaf disks subjected to 25 to 60C. Control-watering was restored in stressed plants and above measurements made after 7 days of recovery. Data indicate: 1) LXWP, LRWC, and MWC in control and stressed plants were –0.378 and –0.804 MPa, 92.31% and 78.69% and 82.86% and 15.5%, respectively; 2) HST increased significantly in stressed as compared to control plants (LT50 of 55C vs. 51C); 3) control plants were near maximally injured by 53C treatment and sustained more than 3-fold greater injury than stressed plants at 53C. In recovered plants, LXWP and RWC reversed back to control levels, paralleled by loss of higher HST.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (22) ◽  
pp. 10685
Author(s):  
Thi-Lan-Huong Hoang ◽  
Dong-Cheol Jang ◽  
Quang-Tin Nguyen ◽  
Won-Ho Na ◽  
Il-Seop Kim ◽  
...  

Ehretia asperula’s physiological responses to growth performance following oak-wood biochar application under water stress conditions (WSC) and no water stress conditions (non-WSC) were investigated in a pot experiment. Biochar (WB) was incorporated into the soil at concentrations of 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 tons ha−1 before transplanting Ehretia asperula in the pots. One month after transplanting, Ehretia asperula plants were put under water stress by withholding water for ten days. Water stress significantly decreased the growth and physiology of Ehretia asperula. Under WSC, the application of WB at the concentrations of 15 and 20 tons ha−1 to the soil increased the plant height; number of leaves; fresh and dry weight of the roots, shoots, and leaves; Fv/Fm; chlorophyll content; leaf relative water content; and soil moisture as well as decreased the relative ion leakage. The application of WB enhanced drought tolerance in Ehretia asperula plants by lowering the wilting point. The findings suggest that WB application at the concentration of 15 tons ha−1 could be recommended for ensuring the best physiological responses and highest growth of Ehretia asperula plants.


2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-60
Author(s):  
Yenni ◽  
◽  
Mohd Hafiz Ibrahim ◽  
Rosimah Nulit ◽  
Siti Zaharah Sakimin ◽  
...  

<abstract> <p>Drought stress is one of the challenges that can affect the growth and the quality of strawberry. The study aims to determine the growth, biochemical changes and leaf gas exchange of three strawberry cultivars under drought stress. This study was conducted in a glasshouse at Indonesian Citrus and Subtropical Fruits Research Institute, Indonesia, from July-November 2018. The experiment was arranged in a factorial randomized completely block design (RCBD) with three replications and four water deficit (WD) levels [100% field capacity (FC)/well-watered), 75% of FC (mild WD), 50% of FC (moderate WD), and 25% of FC (severe WD)] for three strawberry cultivars (Earlibrite, California and Sweet Charlie). The results showed that total chlorophyll and anthocyanin contents (p ≤ 0.05) were influenced by the interaction effects of cultivars and water deficit. Whereas other parameters such as plant growth, transpiration rate (<italic>E</italic>), net photosynthesis (<italic>A</italic>), stomatal conductance (<italic>gs</italic>), leaf relative water content (LRWC), flowers and fruits numbers, proline content, length, diameter, weight and total soluble solid (TSS) of fruit were affected by water deficit. <italic>A</italic> had positive significant correlation with plant height (r = 0.808), leaf area (r = 0.777), fruit length (r = 0.906), fruit diameter (r = 0.889) and fruit weight (r = 0.891). Based on the results, cultivars affected LRWC, and also number of flowers and fruits of the strawberry. This study showed that water deficit decreased plant growth, chlorophyll content, leaf gas exchange, leaf relative water content, length, diameter and weight of fruit but enhanced TSS, anthocyanin, MDA, and proline contents. Increased anthocyanin and proline contents are mechanisms for protecting plants against the effects of water stress. California strawberry had the highest numbers of flowers and fruits, and also anthocyanin content. Hence, this cultivar is recommended to be planted under drought stress conditions. Among all water stress treatments, 75% of FC had the best results to optimize water utilization on the strawberry plants.</p> </abstract>


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