Effect of irrigation on leaf gas exchange and yield of cashew in northern Australia

1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 861 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Schaper ◽  
EK Chacko ◽  
SJ Blaikie

Gas exchange, leaf water status, soil water use and nut yield of cashew trees were monitored during the reproductive phase in 2 consecutive years (1988 and 1989). Treatment 1 comprised continuous irrigation from the end of the wet season in April until harvest in October; T2, irrigation between flowering (mid June) and harvest; and T3, no irrigation. Irrigation was applied by under-tree sprinkler at 43 mm/week in 1988 and 64 mm/week in 1989. Measurement of leaf gas exchange, chlorophyll content and nut production showed that trees in T2 were as productive as those in T1 (>1.3 kg kernel/tree). In T3, water deficit caused a 4-fold reduction in leaf photosynthesis and reduced leaf chlorophyll content from about 600 to 400 mg/m2 during fruit development. There was no effect on the number of hermaphrodite flowers produced (both ranging from 0 to 15 hermaphrodite flowers/panicle) but the water deficit was associated with a lower kernel yield (1.16 kg kernel/tree). Commercial yields (kg kernel/tree) in irrigated treatments were 20% greater than in the non-irrigated treatment and the kernels from irrigated trees were of a higher grade (kernel recovery >32% in T1 and T2 compared with 27.4% in T3). These results suggest that irrigation of established cashew plantations in the tropical regions of northern Australia can be restricted to the period between flowering and harvest without reducing yield.

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Henrique Britto de Assis Prado ◽  
Zhang Wenhui ◽  
Manuel Humberto Cardoza Rojas ◽  
Gustavo Maia Souza

Predawn leaf water potential (psipd) and morning values of leaf gas exchange, as net photosynthesis (A), stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration (E), and morning leaf water potential (psimn) were determined seasonally in 22 woody cerrado species growing under natural conditions. Despite the lower mean values of psipd in the dry season (-0.35 ± 0.23 MPa) compared to the wet season (-0.08 ± 0.03 MPa), the lowest psipd in the dry season (-0.90 ± 0.00 MPa) still showed a good nocturnal leaf water status recovery for all species studied through out the year. Mean gs values dropped 78 % in the dry season, when the vapor pressure of the air was 80% greater than in the wet season. This reduction in gs led to an average reduction of 33% in both A and E, enabling the maintainance of water use efficiency (WUE) during the dry season. Network connectance analysis detected a change in the relationship between leaf gas exchange and psimn in the dry season, mainly between gs-E and E-WUE. A slight global connectance value increase (7.25 %) suggested there was no severe water stress during the dry season. Multivariate analysis showed no link between seasonal response and species deciduousness, suggesting similar behavior in remaining leaves for most of the studied species concerning leaf gas exchange and psimn under natural drought.


2000 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 711 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Davies ◽  
D. W. Turner ◽  
M. Dracup

Yellow lupin (Lupinus luteus) may have potential as a legume crop in waterlogging-prone areas of Western Australia. To elucidate the physiological response of yellow lupin and the widely grown narrow-leafed lupin (L. angustifolius) to transient waterlogging we conducted experiments in controlled environments. Narrow-leafed lupin and yellow lupin were grown in pots and waterlogged for 14 days from 28 to 42, or 56 to 70 days after sowing, each being followed by a 14-day recovery period. Root and shoot growth responses, leaf gas exchange, water relations, and N accumulation were assessed. During the period of waterlogging, net nitrogen accumulation ceased in both species at both ages. During recovery, yellow lupin accumulated more nitrogen than narrow-leafed lupin. Waterlogging reduced leaf gas exchange more with older plants than with younger plants, and more so with narrow-leafed lupin than yellow lupin. Some components of leaf gas exchange, particularly leaf conductance, were reduced by up to 80%. Waterlogging had no effect on leaf water potential of yellow lupin but reduced it in narrow-leafed lupin, from about –450 to –1100 kPa, especially during the recovery period. Yellow lupin was more adapted to transient waterlogging than narrow-leafed lupin because it maintained its leaf water status, it accumulated more nitrogen during recovery, and its photosynthetic activity recovered quickly afterremoval of waterlogging.


2003 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alonso González ◽  
S. J. Blaikie

In the tropics of northern Australia the mango cultivar Kensington Pride exhibits erratic flowering and fruiting and low productivity. Two treatments to manipulate flowering were applied. The first, mango flowering treatment (MFT), involved cutting a cincture through the bark around the circumference of the tree trunk and tying into the cincture a length of twine soaked in a solution of morphactin, CF125. The second involved applying paclobutrazol (PBZ) as a soil drench around the trunk of the tree. Phenology, leaf gas exchange, and fruit yield were assessed over 2 seasons in 3 separate groups of trees in commercial orchards near Darwin.Both MFT and PBZ supported earlier and/or more intense flowering in the season of application than did control trees. The PBZ was re-applied annually and the beneficial effect on flowering occurred in successive years. The MFT was applied once only at the start of the experiment and the effect of MFT was not evident in the second season.The effect of MFT on gas exchange was characterised by a severe reduction in net carbon assimilation (Amax), stomatal conductance (gs), and transpiration (E) for up to 4 months following treatment. Trees receiving PBZ generally had higher rates of leaf gas exchange than MFT trees but similar to control trees. During the dry season, leaves of MFT, control, and PBZ trees had similar rates of Amax. In the year of application, chlorophyll content of MFT trees was lower than that of the other treatments, but in the second year it was very similar to control trees. PBZ trees had the highest chlorophyll content during the study. Commercial fruit yield of PBZ-treated trees was 2–3 times higher than that of control or MFT trees. Independent of the flowering treatments, Amax followed a seasonal trend with an average rate of 9.05 μmol/m2.s (min. 4.42, max. 13.2) during the wet season (January–April), and 4.2 μmol/m2.s (min. 1.11, max. 8.7) during the dry season (May–October). Regression analysis demonstrated that 82% of the variation in gs and 76% of the variation in Amax could be explained by the effect of vapour pressure deficit of the leaf (VPDL) in field-grown mango trees.


1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Repellin ◽  
Serge Braconnier ◽  
Daniel Laffray ◽  
Claude Daniel ◽  
Yasmine Zuily-Fodil

Drought is the main climatic limitation to coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.) production. To identify early screening parameters for drought resistance, physiological responses to water deficit were investigated for the first time using containerized young plants grown outside. Three varieties were studied: 'West Coast Tall' (drought avoiding), 'Malayan Yellow Dwarf' (drought susceptible), and their progeny, the hybrid 'PB 121' (drought resistant). Leaf water status (relative water content, leaf water potential) and leaf gas exchange parameters (stomatal conductance to water vapor, net photosynthetic rate, and leaf internal CO2 concentration) were measured throughout a drying cycle induced by withholding watering. On fully hydrated plants, the sensitivity of stomata to atmospheric water vapor deficit was also investigated. In the three varieties, stomatal conductance to water vapor declined before leaf water status parameters were affected. The existence of a root-to-shoot communication system was proposed. Net photosynthetic rate was highly dependent on stomatal aperture, but nonstomatal factors also participated in the reduction of CO2 fixation. Since gas exchange rates were equally sensitive to drought in the three varieties, they could not be used as screening parameters for drought resistance. Under severe drought stress, both relative water content and leaf water potential differed significantly among populations. 'West Coast Tall' maintained a higher leaf water status than 'Malayan Yellow Dwarf'. Remarkably, the water status parameters of 'PB 121' were intermediate between those of the two parents. Similar ranking was obtained in experiments with excised leaflets. The high reproductibility of the results suggests that leaf water status parameters might be useful as early selection criteria for drought resistance in coconut palm. Key words: Cocos nucifera L., gas exchange, leaf water status parameters, water deficit, water relations.


2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda P. De Souza ◽  
Adriana Grandis ◽  
Bruna C. Arenque-Musa ◽  
Marcos S. Buckeridge

Photosynthesis and growth are dependent on environmental conditions and plant developmental stages. However, it is still not clear how the environment and development influence the diurnal dynamics of nonstructural carbohydrates production and how they affect growth. This is particularly the case of C4 plants such as sugarcane (Saccharum spp.). Aiming to understand the dynamics of leaf gas exchange and nonstructural carbohydrates accumulation in different organs during diurnal cycles across the developmental stages, we evaluated these parameters in sugarcane plants in a 12-month field experiment. Our results show that during the first 3 months of development, light and vapour pressure deficit (VPD) were the primary drivers of photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and growth. After 6 months, in addition to light and VPD, drought, carbohydrate accumulation and the mechanisms possibly associated with water status maintenance were also likely to play a role in gas exchange and growth regulation. Carbohydrates vary throughout the day in all organs until Month 9, consistent with their use for growth during the night. At 12 months, sucrose is accumulated in all organs and starch had accumulated in leaves without any diurnal variation. Understanding of how photosynthesis and the dynamics of carbohydrates are controlled might lead to strategies that could increase sugarcane’s biomass production.


2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregorio Egea ◽  
Ian C. Dodd ◽  
María M. González-Real ◽  
Rafael Domingo ◽  
Alain Baille

To determine whether partial rootzone drying (PRD) optimised leaf gas exchange and soil–plant water relations in almond (Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb) compared with regulated deficit irrigation (RDI), a 2 year trial was conducted on field-grown trees in a semiarid climate. Five irrigation treatments were established: full irrigation (FI) where the trees were irrigated at 100% of the standard crop evapotranspiration (ETc); three PRD treatments (PRD70, PRD50 and PRD30) that applied 70, 50 and 30% ETc, respectively; and a commercially practiced RDI treatment that applied 50% ETc during the kernel-filling stage and 100% ETc during the remainder of the growth season. Measurements of volumetric soil moisture content in the soil profile (0–100 cm), predawn leaf water potential (Ψpd), midday stem water potential (Ψms), midday leaf gas exchange and trunk diameter fluctuations (TDF) were made during two growing seasons. The diurnal patterns of leaf gas exchange and stem water potential (Ψs) were appraised during the kernel-filling stage in all irrigation regimes. When tree water relations were assessed at solar noon, PRD did not show differences in either leaf gas exchange or tree water status compared with RDI. At similar average soil moisture status (adjudged by similar Ψpd), PRD50 trees had higher water status than RDI trees in the afternoon, as confirmed by Ψs and TDF. Although irrigation placement showed no effects on diurnal stomatal regulation, diurnal leaf net photosynthesis (Al) was substantially less limited in PRD50 than in RDI trees, indicating that PRD improved leaf-level water use efficiency.


1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z Kefu ◽  
R Munns ◽  
RW King

Exposing barley and cotton plants to 75 mol m-3 NaCl reduced transpiration and increased abscisic acid (ABA) levels in leaves, roots and xylem sap. Exposing saltbush (Atriplex spongiosa) plants to 75 mol m-3 NaCI, at which concentration they grow best, did not affect transpiration or ABA levels but when the NaCl was increased to 150 mol m-3 transpiration fell and ABA levels rose. ABA levels in leaves were high in salt-treated barley and saltbush even when the leaf water status was raised by pressurising the roots. These responses indicate that an increased leaf ABA level was not triggered by leaf water deficit, but by the root's response to the salinity. The flux of ABA in the xylem sap of the three species was more than enough to account for the amount of ABA in leaves, in the presence and absence of salinity. This suggests that the roots may be the source of at least part of the ABA found in leaves.


2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 455-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria da Assunção Machado Rocha ◽  
Claudivan Feitosa de Lacerda ◽  
Marlos Alves Bezerra ◽  
Francisca Edineide Lima Barbosa ◽  
Hernandes de Oliveira Feitosa ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The low availability of water in the soil is one of the limiting factors for the growth and survival of plants. The objective of this study was to evaluate the responses of physiological processes in early growth of guanandi (Calophyllum brasilense Cambess), African mahogany (Khayai vorensis A. Chev) and oiti (Licaniato mentosa Benth Fritsch) over a period of water stress and other of rehydration in the soil with and without addition of organic matter. The study was conducted in a greenhouse and the experimental design was completely randomised into a 3 x 2 x 2 factorial scheme, comprising three species (guanandi, African mahogany, and oiti), two water regimes (with and without water restriction) and two levels of organic fertilisation (with and without the addition of organic matter). Irrigation was suspended for 15 days in half of the plants, while the other half (control) continued to receive daily irrigation, the soil being maintained near field capacity for these plants. At the end of the stress period, the plants were again irrigated for 15 days to determine their recovery. Water restriction reduced leaf water potential and gas exchange in the three species under study, more severely in soil with no addition of organic matter. The addition of this input increased soil water retention and availability to the plants during the suspension of irrigation, reducing the detrimental effects of the stress. During the period of rehydration, there was strong recovery of water status and leaf gas exchange. However recovery was not complete, suggesting that some of the effects caused by stress irreversibly affected cell structures and functions. However, of the species being studied, African mahogany displayed a greater sensitivity to stress, with poorer recovery.


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