Changes in Diffusive Conductance and Water Potential of Wheat Plants Before and After Anthesis

1977 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 75 ◽  
Author(s):  
JM Morgan

The relationships between stomatal conductance and leaf water potential, ΨL, of wheat plants during drying under controlled conditions showed three phases: (1) no apparent effect until ΨL reached about - 1.8 J g-1; (2) increasing closure as ΨL decreased to about - 3 J g-1; and (3) complete failure to open at lower ΨL values. At any given water potential in the first two phases, the stomata were always more open during the post-anthesis stage than during the pre-anthesis stage. Although the relationship between leaf water potential and relative water content differed with growth stage, this was not important in the overall plant response to a water deficit. Over a wide range of ΨL, the conductance of the adaxial surface was less variable and more sensitive than that of the abaxial surface. The ratio of these conductances was very variable and followed no discernible pattern. The water potential of spikelets was appreciably higher than that of flag leaves, especially at low values of the latter. Both organs died at about the same water potential (about -4 J g-1); hence, spikelets survived longer periods of water deficit than leaves. These responses are discussed in respect of sensitivity of grain yield to the stage of growth at which a water deficit is experienced and to the phenomenon of spikelet death. Differences between three cultivars examined were small.

HortScience ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 477d-477
Author(s):  
Chuhe Chen ◽  
J. Scott Cameron ◽  
Ann Marie VanDerZanden

Leaf water potential (LWP). relative water content (RWC), gas exchange rates and 4th-derivative spectra were measured in water-stressed and normally Irrigated plank of Totem' strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) grown in a growth chamber. CO2 assimilation rate (A) dropped sharply when LWP decreased from -0.5 to -1.2 MPa and almost ceased as LWP fell below -1.5 MPa. There was a significant but more gradual decline of A as RWC decreased form 90% to 55%. An exponential relationship with A was observed across a wide range of LWP and RWC (Rz= 0.64, 0.86, respectively). LWP was more closely related with transpiration and leaf and stomatal conductances than with A and water use efficiency. RWC was highly correlated with all gas exchange parameters. Under moderate water stress, younger leaves maintain higher RWC and A than older leaves. There was no relationship between LWP and leaf age. RWC and A were both negatively correlated with peak amplitudes of Ca 684 and Ca 697 and positively correlated with Ca 693 in their 4th-derivative spectra of chlorophyll. LWP had a negative correlation with Cb 640.


2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (12) ◽  
pp. 1484 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Ben Rouina ◽  
A. Trigui ◽  
R. d'Andria ◽  
M. Boukhris ◽  
M. Chaïeb

In Tunisia, olives are grown under severe rain-fed, arid conditions. To determine the behaviour of olive trees (cv. Chemlali Sfax) during the severe drought affecting Tunisian arid areas in 2002, a range of physiological parameters were investigated in three adjacent orchards. Two olive orchards were rain-fed, one located on a sandy soil, and the other on a sandy-loam clay soil. A third orchard was also located on sandy soil, but received remedial irrigation (415 mm of water per year; ~40% of olive evapotranspiration). Predawn leaf water potential (Ψpd) did not fall below –1.52 MPa for irrigated olive trees. However, a large decrease in Ψpd was observed for rain-fed olive trees in the same period with Ψpd measured at about –3.2 MPa on sandy soil and –3.6 MPa on sandy-loam clay soil. At the same time, the minimal leaf water potential recorded at midday (Ψmin) decreased to –4.15 MPa and –4.71 MPa in the rain-fed trees for sandy and sandy-loam clay soil, respectively. For irrigated trees, the Ψmin was –1.95 MPa. These results were associated with relative water content, which varied from 80% for irrigated trees to 54 and 43.6%, respectively, for rain-fed trees and trees subjected to severe drought. In August, when the relative water content values were less than 50%, a progressive desiccation in the outer layer of canopy and death of terminal shoots were observed in trees, which grew on the sandy-loam clay soil. Furthermore, low soil water availability also affected (negatively) the net photosynthetic rate in rain-fed orchards (10.3 µmol/m2.s for irrigated trees v. 5.3 µmol/m2.s in rain-fed trees on sandy soil) and stomatal conductance (98.5 mmol/m2.s v. 69.3 mmol/m2.s). However, it improved water use efficiency (7.6 v. 4.7 µmol CO2/mmol H2O), which increased by more than 50% in both groups of rain-fed trees compared with the irrigated ones. We can conclude that olive trees respond to drought by showing significant changes in their physiological and biological mechanisms. These results also help our understanding of how olive trees cope with water stress in the field and how marginal soils can restrict growth and lower yields.


2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 439-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lázara Pereira Campos Caramori ◽  
Paulo Henrique Caramori ◽  
João Manetti Filho

Young coffee plants from cultivar Mundo Novo of Coffea arabica were grown without irrigation for 32 consecutive days, to evaluate the effect of leaf water potential on damage caused by low temperatures, under controlled conditions. A wide range of leaf water potentials were evaluated, from - 0.45MPa (wet soil) at the beginning of the experimental period, to - 4.8MPa (severe leaf wilting) at the end. Results showed that under moderate water stress, there was a higher frequency of undamaged plants and lower frequency of severely damaged plants. These results help explain part of the regional variability observed after a frost and stress the importance of new studies associating cold and drought tolerance in coffee.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-94
Author(s):  
Leila Romdhane ◽  
Nicola Dal Ferro ◽  
Amor Slama ◽  
Leila Radhouane

Rising temperatures and increasing water scarcity, which are already important issues, are expected to intensify in the near future due to global warming. Optimizing irrigation in agriculture is a challenge. Understanding the response of crop development stages to water deficit stress provides an opportunity for optimizing irrigation. Here we studied the response of two barley varieties (Rihane, Martin), to water deficit stress at three development stages (tillering, stem elongation, and heading) by measuring water status and grain yield components in a field experiment in Tunisia. The three stages were selected due to their importance in crop growth and grain development. Water deficit stress was initiated by withholding water for 21 days at the three stages with subsequent re-watering. Water deficit led to a progressive decrease in leaf water potential. In both varieties, heading was the stage most sensitive to water deficit. Leaf water potential measurements indicated that water deficit stress was more severe during heading, which to some extent may have influenced the comparison between growth stages. During heading, the number of ears per plant and weight of a thousand grains were reduced by more than 70% and 50%, respectively compared with stress at tillering. Comparison of yield components showed differences between the two barley varieties only when the water deficit was produced during the tillering stage.


1993 ◽  
Vol 120 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. Ruíz-Sánchez ◽  
M. J. Sánchez-Blanco ◽  
J. Planes ◽  
J. J. Alarcón ◽  
A. Torrecillas

SUMMARYAlmond trees (Amygdalus communis L. cvs Garrigues and Ramillete) were grown in the field under non-irrigated conditions in Murcia, Spain. Seasonal variations in leaf water potential components were studied in 1989. Predawn leaf water potential showed high values in both cultivars, due to the absence of soil water stress. Pressure-volume curve analysis indicated that the leaf osmotic potential at full saturation (Ψo(sat)) for cv. Garrigues remained fairly constant throughout the season. Bulk modulus of elasticity (E) showed, in both cultivars, a tendency to decrease as the season progressed. E values were higher in Ramillete than in Garrigues. The relative water content at the turgor loss point (RWCtlp) seemed to be controlled by E values. The larger relative apoplastic water content (RWCa found in Ramillete might have allowed it to retain more water at low leaf water potentials than Garrigues. These facts would support the suggestion that Ramillete is a more drought-resistant cultivar than Garrigues.


2016 ◽  
Vol 88 (suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 549-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
BRUNO H.P. ROSADO ◽  
EDUARDO A. DE MATTOS

ABSTRACT Among the effects of environmental change, the intensification of drought events is noteworthy, and tropical vegetation is predicted to be highly vulnerable to it. However, it is not clear how tropical plants in drought-prone habitats will respond to this change. In a coastal sandy plain environment, we evaluated the response of six plant species to water deficits across seasons, the relationship between their morpho-physiological traits, and which traits would be the best descriptors of plants' response to drought. Regardless of leaf succulence and phenology, responses between seasons were most strongly related to chlorophyll fluorescence. In this study we have demonstrated that a better comprehension of how tropical species from drought-prone habitats cope with changes in water availability can be based on seasonal variation in leaf water potential and chlorophyll fluorescence. Temporal variation in leaf water potential and chlorophyll fluorescence was found useful for differentiating between groups of sandy soil species that are responsive or unresponsive to water availability. However, chlorophyll fluorescence appeared to be a more sensitive descriptor of their seasonal and short-term responses.


1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (13) ◽  
pp. 1537-1539 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. F. Ike ◽  
G. W. Thurtell ◽  
K. R. Stevenson

The relationship between leaf water potential (ψL) and transpiration rate (T) was investigated using indoor-grown cassava plants (Manihot esculenta Crantz cv. Llanera). Leaf water potentials were measured with in situ dew-point hygrometer and transpiration rates by gas exchange analysis technique.Regression analyses of the data showed that T was consistently linearly related to ψL (r2 = 0.94). This implies that the plant resistance to flow was constant and hence that an Ohm's Law analog is valid for the transpiration range studied. Extrapolated values of leaf water potential at zero transpiration were close to the osmotic potential of the nutrient solution. Calculated resistance values (slope of regression line for individual plants) varied between 2.90 and 3.05 bars dm2 h g−1 (1 bar = 100 kPa).


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