scholarly journals Critical Leaf Water Content for Maize Photosynthesis under Drought Stress and Its Response to Rewatering

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7218
Author(s):  
Xingyang Song ◽  
Guangsheng Zhou ◽  
Qijin He

Crop photosynthesis is closely related to leaf water content (LWC), and clarifying the LWC conditions at critical points in crop photosynthesis has great theoretical and practical value for accurately monitoring drought and providing early drought warnings. This experiment was conducted to study the response of LWC to drought and rewatering and to determine the LWC at which maize photosynthesis reaches a maximum and minimum and thus changes from a state of stomatal limitation (SL) to non-stomatal limitation (NSL). The effects of rehydration were different after different levels of drought stress intensity at different growth stages, and the maize LWC recovered after rewatering following different drought stresses at the jointing stage; however, the maize LWC recovered more slowly after rewatering following 43 days and 36 days of drought stress at the tasselling and silking stages, respectively. The LWC when maize photosynthesis changed from SL to NSL was 75.4% ± 0.38%, implying that the maize became rehydrated under physiologically impaired conditions. The LWCs at which the maize Vcmax25 reached maximum values and zero differed between the drought and rewatering periods. After exposure to drought stress, the maize exhibited enhanced drought stress tolerance, an obviously reduced suitable water range, and significantly weakened photosynthetic capacity. These results provide profound insight into the turning points in maize photosynthesis and their responses to drought and rewatering. They may also help to improve crop water management, which will be useful in coping with the increased frequency of drought and extreme weather events expected under global climate change.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 4125
Author(s):  
Weiping Kong ◽  
Wenjiang Huang ◽  
Lingling Ma ◽  
Lingli Tang ◽  
Chuanrong Li ◽  
...  

Monitoring vertical profile of leaf water content (LWC) within wheat canopies after head emergence is vital significant for increasing crop yield. However, the estimation of vertical distribution of LWC from remote sensing data is still challenging due to the effects of wheat spikes and the efficacy of sensor measurement from the nadir direction. Using two-year field experiments with different growth stages after head emergence, N rates, wheat cultivars, we investigated the vertical distribution of LWC within canopies, the changes of canopy reflectance after spikes removal, the relationship between spectral indices and LWC in the upper-, middle- and bottom-layer. The interrelationship among vertical LWC were constructed, and four ratio of reflectance difference (RRD) type of indices were proposed based on the published WI and NDWSI indices to determine vertical distribution of LWC. The results indicated a bell shape distribution of LWC in wheat plants with the highest value appeared at the middle layer, and significant linear correlations between middle-LWC vs. upper-LWC and middle-LWC vs. bottom-LWC (r ≥ 0.92) were identified. The effects of wheat spikes on spectral reflectance mainly occurred in near infrared to shortwave infrared regions, which then decreased the accuracy of LWC estimation. Spectral indices at the middle layer outperformed the other two layers in LWC assessment and were less susceptible to wheat spikes effects, in particular, the newly proposed narrow-band WI-4 and NDWSI-4 indices exhibited great potential in tracking the changes of middle-LWC (R2 = 0.82 and 0.84, respectively). By taking into account the effects of wheat spikes and the interrelationship of vertical LWC within canopies, an indirect induction strategy was developed for modeling the upper-LWC and bottom-LWC. It was found that the indirect induction models based on the WI-4 and NDWSI-4 indices were more effective than the models obtained from conventional direct estimation method, with R2 of 0.78 and 0.81 for the upper-LWC estimation, and 0.75 and 0.74 for the bottom-LWC estimation, respectively.


HortScience ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 772A-772
Author(s):  
Ricardo Cesped-Ruiz* ◽  
Bingru Huang

The American cranberry often undergoes drought stress during the summer. However, the physiological response of this species to drought is not well understood. This study was designed to determine the effects of drought on two commercial cranberry cultivars of high potential yield, `Ben Lear' and `Stevens', during a vegetative stage. The plants were subjected to drought for 15 days in a greenhouse. Soil water content, leaf water content, leaf photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration, differential leaf-air temperature, photochemical efficiency (Fv'/Fm') and the actual PSII efficiency (deltaF/Fm') decreased in those plants subjected to drought. Drought reduced differential leaf-air temperature at day 6 of treatment and stomatal conductance and transpiration starting at day 9 and photosynthetic rate at day 13. Drought decreased leaf water content at day 14 and Fv'/Fm' and PSII efficiency at day 15. Our results indicated that cranberry plants in vegetative stage were sensitive to drought for both cultivars and stomatal conductance was the most sensitive parameter among those examined for both cultivars.


2010 ◽  
Vol 135 (6) ◽  
pp. 506-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinmin Fu ◽  
Bingru Huang ◽  
Jack Fry

Effects of deficit irrigation applied to home lawns, used as means of water conservation, are an important issue. However, the impact of deficit irrigation on sucrose metabolism in tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) is unknown and important because sucrose is the dominant form of carbohydrate transported to developing plant organs. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of deficit irrigation on leaf water content, osmotic potential (ψS), sucrose level, and the activity of sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS; EC 2.4.1.14), sucrose synthase (SS; EC 2.4.1.13), and acid invertase (AI; EC 3.2.1.26) in tall fescue leaves. Sods of ‘Falcon II’ tall fescue were established in polyvinylchloride (PVC) tubes (10 cm diameter × 40 cm long) filled with a mixture of sand and fritted clay [9:1 (v:v)] and then placed in growth chambers. Reference evapotranspiration rate [ETo (millimeters of water per day)] was determined by weighing the PVC tubes containing well-watered turfgrass every 3 days to determine water loss on a daily basis as ETo. Deficit irrigation treatments were applied as follows: well-watered control, mild drought stress (60% ETo), and severe drought stress (20% ETo). Leaf water content was lower at 6, 12, and 20 days of treatment for the 20% ETo treatment and 20 days after treatment began for the 60% ETo treatment. Compared with the well-watered control, ψS was lower in the 60% ETo treatment on all three measurement dates. Sucrose was higher at 8 and 14 days after treatment began in the 60% ETo treatment and on all three measurement dates in the 20% ETo treatment relative to the well-watered control. No difference in sucrose level was observed between the 20% ETo and 60% ETo irrigation regimes at 8 and 14 days of treatment. Beginning 14 days after treatment, tall fescue had a higher level of SPS in the 60% ETo and 20% ETo treatments compared with the well-watered treatment. Tall fescue receiving 60% or 20% ETo had a lower level of AI activity on all measurement dates. Results suggest that the decrease in ψS was accompanied by higher sucrose levels, which were the result of the increased level of SPS and SS activity and a decline in AI activity.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 561
Author(s):  
Ines Mihaljević ◽  
Marija Viljevac Vuletić ◽  
Domagoj Šimić ◽  
Vesna Tomaš ◽  
Daniela Horvat ◽  
...  

Genotype-dependent responses of apples to drought stress were evaluated between commercial and traditional apple cultivars. The results indicate different mechanisms of tolerance to investigated drought stress conditions. Chlorophyll fluorescence induction (OJIP) parameters, chlorophyll and carotenoid content, malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), proline, phenols and leaf water content (WC) were measured. The traditional cultivar “Crvenka” confirmed the best tolerance to a drought stress condition, presenting higher photosynthetic efficiency, higher leaf water content, higher levels of chlorophyll content and lower lipid peroxidation with greater membrane stability. The commercial cultivar “Golden Delicious Reinders” showed decreased water content in leaves, increased lipid peroxidation levels and photoinhibition. Considering all results, the commercial cultivar “Golden Delicious Reinders” was adversely affected by drought, while traditional cultivars exhibited better tolerance to drought stress.


2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (12) ◽  
pp. 1249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Rischbeck ◽  
Peter Baresel ◽  
Salah Elsayed ◽  
Bodo Mistele ◽  
Urs Schmidhalter

Spectral and thermal assessments may enable the precise, high-throughput and low-cost characterisation of traits linked to drought tolerance. However, spectral and thermal measurements of the canopy water status are influenced by the crops’ soil coverage, the size of the biomass and other properties such as the leaf angle distribution. The aim of this study was to develop a referenced spectral method that would be minimally influenced by potentially perturbing factors for retrieving the water status of differing cultivars. Sixteen spring barley cultivars were grown in field trials under imposed drought stress, natural drought stress and irrigated conditions. The relative leaf water content of barley plants declines diurnally from pre-dawn until the afternoon, and other plant traits such as the biomass change little throughout the day. As an indicator of the current drought stress, pre-dawn and afternoon values of the relative leaf water content were assessed spectrally. Diurnal changes in reflectance are only slightly influenced by other perturbing factors. A new spectral index (diurnal dehydration index) was developed by using the wavelengths 730 and 457 nm collected from an active spectrometer. This index allowed the differentiation of the drought tolerance of barley plants. The diurnal dehydration index was significantly related to final biomass, grain yield and harvest index and significantly different between cultivars. Compared with other indices, the diurnal dehydration index offered a higher stability in retrieving the water status of barley plants. Due to its diurnal assessment, the index was barely influenced by the differences in cultivars biomass at the time of measurement. It may represent a valuable tool for assessing the water status or drought tolerance in breeding nurseries.


2013 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-69
Author(s):  
A. Salem ◽  
A. Omar ◽  
M. Ali

Water stress is a severe limitation for crop growth especially in arid and semi-arid regions of the world, as it has a vital role in plant growth and development at all growth stages. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the differential responses of twelve sunflower genotypes to three levels of water supply and select the most suitable one for such conditions. Two field experiments were conducted under adequate (7140 m3/ha), moderate (4760 m3/ha) and severe (2380 m3/ha) water regimes to evaluate the chlorophyll index, transpiration rate, leaf water content, plant height, head diameter, seeds/head, 1000-seed weight, seed and oil yield of the genotypes. Moderate and severe levels of drought had a significant impact on the transpiration rate, leaf water content, yield-contributing characters and oil yield of all the sunflower genotypes. However, the sunflower genotypes showed different responses to the different water regimes. The highest seed and oil yields were attained in L990 and Giza 102 in the case of adequate water supplies, while L38 was the best under moderate and severe drought conditions. On the basis of the results, sunflower genotype L990 could be recommended for growing when adequate water supplies are available, and L38 under moderate and severe water regimes to obtain high seed and oil yields.


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