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A relook into plant wilting: observational evidence based on unsaturated soil–plant-photosynthesis interaction
- Source :
- Scientific Reports, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-15 (2020), Scientific Reports
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2020.
-
Abstract
- Permanent wilting point (PWP) is generally used to ascertain plant resistance against abiotic drought stress and designated as the soil water content (θ) corresponding to soil suction (ψ) at 1500 kPa obtained from the soil water retention curve. Determination of PWP based on only pre-assumed ψ may not represent true wilting condition for soils with contrasting water retention abilities. In addition to ψ, there is a need to explore significance of additional plant parameters (i.e., stomatal conductance and photosynthetic status) in determining PWP. This study introduces a new framework for determining PWP by integrating plant leaf response and ψ during drought. Axonopus compressus were grown in two distinct textured soils (clayey loam and silty sand), after which drought was initiated till wilting. Thereafter, ψ and θ within the root zone were measured along with corresponding leaf stomatal conductance and photosynthetic status. It was found that coarse textured silty sand causes wilting at much lower ψ (≈ 300 kPa) than clayey loam (≈ 1600 kPa). Plant response to drought was dependent on the relative porosity and mineralogy of the soil, which governs the ease at which roots can grow, assimilate soil O2, and uptake water. For clay loam, the held water within the soil matrix does not facilitate easy root water uptake by relatively coarse root morphology. Contrastingly, fine root hair formation in silty sand facilitated higher plant water uptake and doubled the plant survival time.
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
0301 basic medicine
Stomatal conductance
Science
Root hair
Poaceae
Plant Roots
01 natural sciences
Article
Soil
03 medical and health sciences
Engineering
Stress, Physiological
medicine
Photosynthesis
Multidisciplinary
biology
Wilting
biology.organism_classification
Axonopus compressus
Water retention
Plant Leaves
Permanent wilting point
030104 developmental biology
Agronomy
Loam
Soil water
Medicine
Environmental science
Hydrology
medicine.symptom
Plant sciences
010606 plant biology & botany
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 20452322
- Volume :
- 10
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Scientific Reports
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....77de38840df05a8c529c47cb6ecd388c