The relationship between steady-state transpiration rates and leaf water potential in cassava (Manihot esculenta cv. Llanera)

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).

1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (14) ◽  
pp. 1638-1641 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. F. Ike ◽  
G. W. Thurtell ◽  
K. R. Stevenson

The pressure chamber technique was evaluated as a method for estimating leaf water potential in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz). Xylem pressure potentials (ψP) measured with the pressure chamber were compared with leaf water potential (ψL) obtained for the same leaf with the in situ dew-point hygrometer.In both cassava varieties studied, ψL and ψP were linearly related (r2 = 0.87 and 0.98 for CMC9 and CMC40 respectively). The length of petiole exposed outside the chamber affects the relation between ψL and ψP and should be kept at between 1 and 3 cm for better agreement. In CMC40, ψP was consistently lower (drier) than ψL by about 1.0 bar (1 bar = 100 kPa) in the entire range of water potential studied, but was not the case in CMC9. The reason for this difference is unclear but may be due to a filling of tissues other than xylem tissues (Boyer 1967) during the measurement of ψP in CMC40. Average xylem osmotic potentials (ψS) were low (−1.0 ± 0.2 bars and −1.0 ± 0.4 bars for CMC9 and CMC40 respectively). It is, therefore, unnecessary to correct for ψS when using the pressure chamber to estimate leaf water potentials in cassava.


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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (23) ◽  
pp. e2008276118
Author(s):  
Piyush Jain ◽  
Weizhen Liu ◽  
Siyu Zhu ◽  
Christine Yao-Yun Chang ◽  
Jeff Melkonian ◽  
...  

Leaf water potential is a critical indicator of plant water status, integrating soil moisture status, plant physiology, and environmental conditions. There are few tools for measuring plant water status (water potential) in situ, presenting a critical barrier for developing appropriate phenotyping (measurement) methods for crop development and modeling efforts aimed at understanding water transport in plants. Here, we present the development of an in situ, minimally disruptive hydrogel nanoreporter (AquaDust) for measuring leaf water potential. The gel matrix responds to changes in water potential in its local environment by swelling; the distance between covalently linked dyes changes with the reconfiguration of the polymer, leading to changes in the emission spectrum via Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET). Upon infiltration into leaves, the nanoparticles localize within the apoplastic space in the mesophyll; they do not enter the cytoplasm or the xylem. We characterize the physical basis for AquaDust’s response and demonstrate its function in intact maize (Zea mays L.) leaves as a reporter of leaf water potential. We use AquaDust to measure gradients of water potential along intact, actively transpiring leaves as a function of water status; the localized nature of the reporters allows us to define a hydraulic model that distinguishes resistances inside and outside the xylem. We also present field measurements with AquaDust through a full diurnal cycle to confirm the robustness of the technique and of our model. We conclude that AquaDust offers potential opportunities for high-throughput field measurements and spatially resolved studies of water relations within plant tissues.


1974 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. H. NEUMANN ◽  
G. W. THURTELL ◽  
K. R. STEVENSON

Peltier-cooled thermocouple dewpoint hygrometers were used to measure leaf water potentials at several transpiration rates on intact corn (Zea mays L.), soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), and sunflower (Helianthus annus L.), grown in a controlled environment in silica sand rooting media frequently watered with nutrient solution. Hygrometers were left in position for the duration of measurements on each plant, but tests showed this to have little effect on measured potentials. Measured potentials were found to be linearly related to the transpiration rates (correlation coefficients greater than 0.98). Extrapolated values of leaf water potential at zero transpiration were within a few tenths bar of measured nutrient-solution potentials. These results indicated that plant resistances to water flow remained constant from near zero transpiration up to the maximum obtained average rates of 1.8–3.0 g dm−2 h−1. The magnitude of the resistance varied considerably from plant to plant even within a single cultivar of one species and definite conclusions as to interspecies differences in resistance were not made. Estimates of the relative resistance in the root, stalk, and the leaf that were made for a few plants were similar to previously published results.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piyush Jain ◽  
Weizhen Liu ◽  
Siyu Zhu ◽  
Jeff Melkonian ◽  
Duke Pauli ◽  
...  

AbstractLeaf water potential is a critical indicator of plant water status, integrating soil moisture status, plant physiology, and environmental conditions. There are few tools for measuring plant water status (water potential) in situ, presenting a critical barrier for the development of appropriate phenotyping (measurement) methods for crop development and modeling efforts aimed at understanding water transport in plants. Here, we present the development of an in situ, minimally-disruptive hydrogel nanoreporter (AquaDust) for measuring leaf water potential. The gel matrix responds to changes in water potential in its local environment by swelling; the distance between covalently linked dyes changes with the reconfiguration of the polymer, leading to changes in the emission spectrum via Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET). Upon infiltration into leaves, the nanoparticles localize within the apoplastic space in the mesophyll; they do not enter the cytoplast or the xylem. We characterize the physical basis for AquaDust’s response and demonstrate its function in intact maize (Zea mays L.) leaves as a reporter of leaf water potential. We use AquaDust to measure gradients of water potential along intact, actively transpiring leaves as a function of water status; the localized nature of the reporters allows us to define a hydraulic model that distinguishes resistances inside and outside the xylem. We also present field measurements with AquaDust through a full diurnal cycle to confirm the robustness of the technique and of our model. We conclude that AquaDust offers potential opportunities for high-throughput, field measurements and spatially resolved studies of water relations within plant tissues.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document