Leaf and root osmotic adjustment in drought-stressed Quercusalba, Q. macrocarpa, and Q. stellata seedlings

1988 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
William C. Parker ◽  
Stephen G. Pallardy

The leaf and root tissue water relations of Quercusalba L., Quercusmacrocarpa Michx., and Quercusstellata Wang. seedlings before and after drought were examined to evaluate the occurrence and comparative extent of osmotic adjustment in seedlings of these species. Drought resulted in active osmotic adjustment in leaves of all three species, with decreases in osmotic potential at full tissue hydration and at the turgor loss point from 0.25 to 0.60 MPa. Active osmotic adjustment in Q. stellata, and increased root tissue elasticity in Q. macrocarpa and Q. alba, resulted in turgor loss of roots occurring at a water potential 0.36 to 0.66 MPa lower in drought-stressed than in well-watered seedlings. Species differed in tissue water relations only before drought, with Q. stellata exhibiting lower osmotic potentials than Q. alba and Q. macrocarpa. Estimates of the osmotic potential at full saturation were generally lower in leaves than in roots, but the osmotic potential at turgor loss was similar. Roots exhibited turgor loss at lower values of relative water content and experienced a more gradual decrease in water potential per unit water content during dehydration than did leaves. This response indicates greater relative tissue capacitance in roots than in leaves in these species.

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 1495-1502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D. Anderson ◽  
John A. Helms

The tissue water relations of Pinusponderosa Dougl. ex Laws, (ponderosa pine) and Arctostaphylospatula Greene (greenleaf manzanita) seedlings subjected to three levels of soil moisture availability were monitored over a 6-month period. Throughout the study, osmotic potentials at full turgor and at the turgor loss point were approximately 0.5 MPa greater for pine than for manzanita. Osmotic adjustment occurred for both species as evidenced by declines in osmotic potentials at full turgor and at the turgor loss point of 0.5–0.6 MPa over the study period. Pine maintained higher bulk tissue elasticity and lower water content at the turgor loss point relative to manzanita. Moisture regime had little effect on the measured parameters except for apoplasmic water content which increased at moderate and high stress levels for both species. Results suggest that osmotic adjustment occurred, at least partially, as a result of factors other than moisture availability. The lower tissue elasticity and higher water content at the turgor loss point for manzanita suggest that the shrub species is more dependent upon high foliar water content for the maintenance of turgor compared with the conifer.


1968 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 487 ◽  
Author(s):  
DJ Connor ◽  
BR Tunstall

The relationship between the relative water content and the water potential of the phyllodes in brigalow and mulga is compared. It is shown that brigalow phyllode tissue is more resistant to desiccation than that of mulga. This is of interest because mulga has previously been considered to represent an extreme in drought tolerance of Australian arid zone plants.


1996 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. P. Beckett

AbstractThe thermocouple psychrometer was used to determine water potential, Ψ and its components in the lichen Parmotrema tinctorum. Data suggested that using conventional pressure-volume curves to study the water relations of lichens may give anomalous results, possibly because lichens may contain appreciable amounts of intercellular water. A way of correcting pressure-volume curves to remove the effect of intercellular water is discussed. Parmotrema tinctorum had a very low osmotic potential at full turgor (c. −2.5 MPa), and a low bulk modulus of elasticit (c. 2.1 MPa). As a result, P. tinctorum lost turgor only when the relative water content dropped below 0.47. Likely benefits of this for the lichen are discussed.


1980 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 181 ◽  
Author(s):  
MM Jones ◽  
NC Turner

Sunflower plants were grown in large volumes of soil and slowly water-stressed by withholding water. The tissue water relationships of leaves at various stages of stress and of leaves of equivalent well watered controls were studied by the pressure chamber technique. Plants were stressed either when leaf 17 was expanding or when it was fully expanded. When expanding leaves reached a moderate level of stress (predawn leaf water potential of -0.9 MPa), the osmotic potentials at full turgor and zero turgor were lower than the control values by 0.1 MPa and 0.2 MPa, respectively. When fully expanded leaves were stressed to a similar degree (predawn leaf water potential of - 1.1 MPa), the osmotic potentials at full turgor and zero turgor were lower than the control values by 0.2 MPa and 0.3 MPa, respectively. The development of more severe stress in the fully expanded leaves was not accompanied by any further osmotic adjustment. However, when the expanding leaves reached a predawn leaf water potential of -2.3 MPa, the values of leaf osmotic potential at full turgor and zero turgor were lower than the values for the well watered plants by 0.4 MPa and 0.6 MPa, respectively. In expanding leaves prestressed to a predawn leaf water potential of -2.3 MPa, the osmotic potential at full turgor was significantly less than the control values for at least 7 days after rewatering. Stress had no effect on the bulk modulus of elasticity. It is concluded that both expanding and fully expanded sunflower leaves show osmotic adjustment.


2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia M Creus ◽  
Rolando J Sueldo ◽  
Carlos A Barassi

There are scarce data connecting water relations in Azospirillum-inoculated wheat suffering drought during anthesis with the yield and mineral content of grains. Azospirillum brasilense Sp245-inoculated seeds of Triticum aestivum 'Pro INTA Oasis' were sown in nonirrigated and control plots. Water potential, water content, and relative water content were determined on flag leaves. Plant water status was calculated from pressure–volume curves. At maturity, grain yield and its components were determined. P, Ca, Mg, K, Fe, Cu, and Zn were determined in dried grains. Even though the cultivar underwent osmotic adjustment, significantly higher water content, relative water content, water potential, apoplastic water fraction, and lower cell wall modulus of elasticity values were obtained in Azospirillum-inoculated plants suffering drought. Grain yield loss to drought was 26.5% and 14.1% in noninoculated and Azospirillum-inoculated plants, respectively. Grain Mg and K diminished in nonirrigated, noninoculated plots. However, grains harvested from Azospirillum-inoculated plants had significantly higher Mg, K, and Ca than noninoculated plants. Neither drought nor inoculation changed grain P, Cu, Fe, and Zn contents. A better water status and an additional "elastic adjustment" in Azospirillum-inoculated wheat plants could be crucial in promoting higher grain yield and mineral quality at harvest, particularly when drought strikes during anthesis.Key words: Azospirillum, wheat, drought, pressure–volume curves, yield, mineral content.


2009 ◽  
Vol 89 (5) ◽  
pp. 823-835 ◽  
Author(s):  
H W Cutforth ◽  
S V Angadi ◽  
B G McConkey ◽  
M H Entz ◽  
D Ulrich ◽  
...  

Understanding the drought physiology of alternate crops is essential to assess the production risks of new cropping systems. We compared the water relations of dry (field) pea (Pisum sativum L.), chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), canola (Brassica napus L.) and mustard (Brassica juncea L.) with spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under different moisture availabilities in field trials conducted in 1997 and 1998 at Swift Current, SK. Stress experience and stress responses varied with crop type. In general, there were similarities in drought physiology between the two pulse crops and between the two oilseed crops. The mean predawn leaf water potential of pea was frequently lowest, while the mean midday leaf water potential of wheat was at least -0.40 MPa lower than for any other crop. The crops exhibited different strategies to overcome water stress. Wheat had the lowest osmotic potential at full turgor, except under drought when turgor was lowest for chickpea and wheat; the highest values were observed in Brassica spp. Mean midday pressure potentials were lowest in wheat (and mostly negative, indicating loss of turgor) and highest for the pulse crops. Mean midday pressure potential for canola was positive when well-watered, otherwise it was near 0. Despite lowering osmotic potential, wheat could not maintain positive turgor much of the time at midday. Pulse crops, with the contributions from both osmotic adjustment and cell elasticity, maintained positive turgor over a wider range of water potentials compared with the other crops. With regard to both osmotic adjustment and tissue elasticity, we ranked the crops from high to low ability to adjust to moderate to severe water stress as pulses > wheat > Brassica oilseeds. Key words: Leaf water, osmotic, turgor potentials, wheat, pulse, canola, semiarid prairie


HortScience ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 252f-253
Author(s):  
Hui-lian Xu ◽  
Laurent Gauthier ◽  
André Gosselin

Tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. Capello) were grown in peat bags, rockwool slabs, and NFT in a greenhouse to examine the effects of nutrient solution electrical conductivity (EC) and potential evapotranspiration (PET)-dependent EC variation on plant water relations. Peat bags were irrigated by a PET-dependent irrigation system. EC was varied from 1 to 4 mS·cm-1 according to PET under –5 and –9 kPa of substrate water potential setpoints (SWPS). The plants in rockwool and NFT were treated with ECs of 2.5, 4, and 5.5 mS·cm-1. Peat bags and rockwool slabs were overwatered once a week to wash out the accumulated salts. Leaf water potential (ψ1) and relative water content (θ) were measured before and after plants were overwatered. Turgor (P) and osmotic π potentials were estimated from the pressure-volume method. Before plants were overwatered, ψ1 was significantly lower in the plants with high EC and low SWPS treatments and also lower in variable EC-treated plants, but P maintained close to the control value. After plants were overwatered, ψ1 recovered close to the control level and P became higher because of the lower π in the treatments of high EC, variable EC, and/or low SWPS. At a given ψ1 the plants with high EC, variable EC, and/or low SWPS maintained higher θ. The analysis of the pressure-volume curve showed that the leaves treated with high EC, variable EC, and/or low SWPS had higher turgid water content, higher symplasmic (osmotically active) water content, lower apoplasmic (osmotically inactive) water content, and lower θ point of zero turgor (incipient plasmolysis). Maintenance of P after overwatering was directly proportional to photosynthetic capacity. We suggest that osmotic adjustment occurs in response to high EC, low SWPS, or both and that overwatering substrates and varying EC can not only avoid salinity stress, but also improve turgor maintenance.


1982 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 393 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Dawson ◽  
G Weste

Changes in water relations associated with infection by Phytophthora cinnamomi were measured for three native species from the Brisbane Ranges forest. Measurements included leaf conductance, stomatal aperture, transpiration, water potential and relative water content in container-grown plants of Isopogon ceratophyllus (highly susceptible), Eucalyptus macrorhyncha (field-susceptible) and E. goniocalyx (field-resistant) maintained in a glasshouse. I. Ceratophyllus showed a large and highly significant difference in water relations between infected and control plants. Infection was associated with stomatal closure, reduced transpiration, reduced relative water content and leaf water potential. These reactions to infection were not observed for either of the glasshouse-reared Eucalyptus species. In the forest diseased E. macrorhyncha showed significant differences in leaf conductance compared with healthy trees, whereas E. goniocalyx forest trees showed less infection-associated variation. This variation in leaf conductance was not associated with water stress.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document