scholarly journals Irrigation Frequency and Shading Influences on Water Relations and Growth of Container-Grown Euonymus japonica ‘Aureo-marginata’

1988 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 96-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.E. Newman ◽  
M.W. Follett

Trickle irrigation frequency, shading, water relations, and plant growth of container-grown Euonymus japonica Thunb. ‘Aureomarginata’ was investigated. Plants were grown under a combination of 3 irrigation frequencies and 2 shade levels. Stomatal conductance (gs) was reduced when plants were irrigated 3 times per week compared to irrigation daily and twice daily after week 4 under full sun and after week 8 under shade. Few differences were detected in predawn shoot water potential (Ψshoot) under shade at any irrigation level. The predawn shoot water potential (Ψshoot) was reduced (rnore negative) for plants irrigated 3 times per week compared to irrigation daily and twice daily after week 8 for plants grown under full sun and week 10 for plants grown under shade. These values remained lower for the duration of the study. Plants grown under shade and irrigated once daily had greater plant dry weight and leaf area compared to plants irrigated either twice daily or 3 times per week. They were also larger than all plants grown under full sun. Plants grown under shade had greater chlorophyll levels per unit leaf area. Under shade, plant quality was not affected by irrigation rates. However, only plants grown under shade were of salable quality.

1994 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-111
Author(s):  
R. Kjelgren ◽  
C. Spihlman ◽  
B.R. Cleveland

Abstract Growth and water relations of irrigated and non-irrigated Malus sieboldii var. zumi produced with and without in-ground fabric containers in a field-nursery setting were investigated. Predawn and midday leaf water potential and midday stomatal conductance were measured periodically through the season, and trunk increment, leaf area, root growth, and osmotic potential were measured in late season. Water potential became more negative and stomatal conductance decreased in non-irrigated treatments during an extended mid-summer drought that resulted in less trunk diameter growth and leaf area. Trees grown in fabric-containers, both irrigated and non-irrigated, exhibited no detectable differences in water relations over the season. These trees did have fewer roots and less leaf area than the trees grown without fabric containers, indicating that in-ground fabric containers can limit growth even when irrigated. Non-irrigated trees in fabric containers were nonetheless affected by water stress as they had the least trunk growth and most negative osmotic potential of all treatments. Careful management practices would suggest increased irrigation frequency during production with in-ground fabric containers to avoid water stress.


HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 522d-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.W. Buxton ◽  
D.L. Ingram ◽  
Wenwei Jia

Geraniums in 15-cm pots were irrigated automatically for 8 weeks with a Controlled Water Table (CWT) irrigation system. Plants were irrigated with a nutrient solution supplied by a capillary mat with one end of the mat suspended in a trough below the bottom of the pot. The nutrient solution remained at a constant level in the trough. Nutrient solution removed from the trough was immediately replaced from a larger reservoir. The vertical distance from the surface of the nutrient solution and the bottom of the pot determined the water/air ratio and water potential in the growing media. Treatments consisted of placing pots at 0, 2, 4, and 6 cm above the nutrient solution. Control plants were irrigated as needed with a trickle irrigation system. Geraniums grown at 0,2 and 4 CWT were ≈25% larger than the control plants and those grown at 6 CWT as measured by dry weight and leaf area. Roots of plants grown at 0 CWT were concentrated in the central area of the root ball; whereas roots of plants in other treatments were located more near the bottom of the pot. Advantages of the CWT system include: Plant controlled automatic irrigation; no run off; optimum water/air ratio.


1994 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-99
Author(s):  
Roger Kjelgren ◽  
Brenda Cleveland

Abstract Following transplanting we monitored growth and water relations over two years in Kentucky coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioica (L.) C. Koch) and silver maple (Acer saccharinum L.). Field-grown, well-established trees transplanted in place were compared to nontransplanted control trees. Predawn water potential was measured twice each month for two growing seasons, as well as midday stomatal conductance and water potential. Shoot elongation, leaf size, diameter growth, and total leaf area were determined both years. Less total leaf area as a result of transplanting apparently moderated total tree transpiration in both species. Reduced tree transpiration allowed stomatal conductance and predawn water potential to reach levels equal to non-transplanted trees in both species during periods of high rainfall. During low-rainfall periods water relations of transplanted Kentucky coffee tree (KCT) declined more than silver maple (MAP) relative to the control trees. Compared to non-transplanted trees, transplanting reduced growth of KCT more than that of MAP the first year. In the second year, when growing-season rainfall was less than half of the first year, the relative effect of transplanting on growth of the two species was reversed, indicating that KCT was more drought tolerant. These results suggested that deciduous balled-and-burlapped trees transplanted while dormant self-regulate water loss by reducing transpiring leaf area the following growing season.


2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey Fox ◽  
Amber Bates ◽  
Thayne Montague

For three growing seasons (2003–2005) two newly planted, field-grown redbud (Cercis canadensis L.) varieties were subjected to three reference evapotranspiration (ETo)-based irrigation regimes (100, 66, and 33% ETo). Over this time period, water relations (pre-dawn leaf water potential), gas exchange (mid-day stomatal conductance), and growth data (trunk cross sectional area increase, tree leaf area, and shoot elongation) were measured. Pre-dawn leaf water potential (ψl) was more negative for trees receiving the least amount of irrigation, and for Mexican redbud [C. canadensis var. mexicana (Rose) M. Hopkins] trees. However, mid-day stomatal conductance (gs) was similar for Texas redbud (C. canadensis var. texensis S. Watson) trees across the three irrigation regimes, and was highest for Mexican redbud trees receiving the greatest amount of irrigation volume. Growth varied by variety and irrigation regime. Trunk cross sectional area increase was greatest for Mexican redbud trees, leaf area was highest for trees receiving the greatest amount of irrigation, and shoot elongation was greatest for trees receiving the 66% ETo irrigation regime. However, despite differing irrigation volumes, greatest gas exchange and growth was not necessarily associated with greatest irrigation volume. When considering conservation of precious water resources, these redbud varieties maintain adequate growth and appearance under reduced irrigation.


1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 716-721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianna Krol ◽  
Norman P. A. Huner

Accumulation of chlorophyll, the carotenoids (β-carotene, lutein, violaxanthin, and neoxanthin), and the benzoquinones (plastoquinone A and α-tocopherol) were monitored in 'Puma' rye as a function of leaf ontogeny at warm and cold-hardening temperatures. Although the kinetics of accumulation differed among the leaves of warm-grown plants, the initial and maximum levels of the pigments and benzoquinones expressed on a leaf area basis did not differ significantly among the first four leaves of the main culm. In contrast, the third and fourth leaf of cold-grown plants, which developed completely at the low temperature, generally exhibited initial and maximum pigment and benzoquinone levels 60–300% greater than was observed for leaf 1 and 2 of cold-grown plants, which were completely or partially developed at the warm temperature regime. This resulted in pigment and benzoquinone levels which were 1.6- to 3-fold greater in the plants grown at cold-hardening temperatures than those grown at the warm temperature, when expressed on a per unit leaf area basis. However, when pigment accumulation was calculated on a chlorophyll basis, the benzoquinone content of leaves that developed solely at cold-hardening temperatures exhibited a 1.7-fold increase over the same leaves developed at warm temperatures. Carotenoids did not exhibit this trend. Calculations based on chlorophyll/carotenoid content and dry weight accumulation indicated that leaves that were developed at cold-hardening temperatures appeared to produce more dry matter per unit of photosynthetic pigments than the same leaves that were developed at nonhardening temperatures.


1994 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-75
Author(s):  
Steven E. Newman ◽  
Leila P. Baldridge

Abstract Field-grown Cercis canadensis and Lagerstroemia (indica x fauriei) ‘Muskogee’ with or without trickle irrigation and three row cover management systems, including a summer leguminous cover crop, pine bark mulch or bare cultivation, were evaluated. Cercis plants grown with lespedeza clover as a row cover had less plant growth than those bare cultivated or mulched with pine bark, even with supplemental irrigation. Mulched plots exhibited higher stomatal conductance rates attributable to high canopy temperatures. Lagerstroemia plants with no cover grew as well as those with a cover of mulch or clover, when sufficient water was available from either rainfall or irrigation. Clover interplantings decreased the height and number of branches in Lagerstroemia without supplemental irrigation, but did not affect the water relations significantly.


2004 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Jobin ◽  
Jean Caron ◽  
Pierre-Yves Bernier ◽  
Blanche Dansereau

Hydrophilic polymers or hydrogels have shown potential to increase water retention of media and to reduce irrigation frequency. This property would be particularly useful in the production of fast growing species in which large amounts of water are needed. This study evaluated the effect of two acrylic-based hydrogels on water desorption curve and hydraulic conductivity of substrates and on plant growth. The duration of their effects was also investigated. Rooted cuttings of Surfinia (Petunia ×hybrida `Brilliant Pink') were transplanted into 30-cm pots containing one of three different substrates amended with one of two types of hydrogels, a commercial acrylic polymer, and a commercial acrylic-acrylamide copolymer, and grown for 9 weeks under well watered conditions and then imposed with a drought. Results indicated that both polymer types gave similar results. The substrates' physical properties (air-filled porosity, available water) at potting time were significantly affected by hydrogel addition, but differences vanished within 9 weeks of growth. Hydrogels had no significant effect on the point at which plant wilted and on the substrate's unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. Shoot dry weight was affected by substrate and hydrogel and was positively correlated to water content between container capacity and -10 kPa of water potential, or between container capacity and the soil water potential at plant turgor loss.


HortScience ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (7) ◽  
pp. 843-846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshio Shibuya ◽  
Ryosuke Endo ◽  
Yoshiaki Kitaya ◽  
Saki Hayashi

Light with a higher red to far-red ratio (R:FR) than sunlight reduces plant growth, but the cause has not been firmly established. In the present study, cucumber seedlings were grown under normal light (similar to sunlight; R:FR = 1.4) from metal-halide lamps or high-R:FR light (R:FR = 4.3) created by transmitting their light through FR-absorbing film, and then their growth parameters and photosynthesis were compared. The relative growth rate (RGR) at high R:FR was 92% of that under normal R:FR, although the net assimilation rate (NAR) did not differ between the treatments, indicating that changes in net photosynthesis per unit leaf area did not cause the growth inhibition at high R:FR. The CO2 exchange per unit leaf area did not differ between the treatments, which supports this hypothesis. The leaf area ratio (LAR) of total plant dry weight of high R:FR seedlings to that of normal R:FR seedlings was also 92%. This suggests that growth suppression in the high R:FR seedlings was caused mainly by decreased LAR. The specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf weight ratio (LWR), components of LAR, under high-R:FR light were 89% and 105%, respectively, of those under normal light, indicating that the smaller LAR at high R:FR mainly results from suppressed leaf enlargement per unit leaf dry matter.


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