Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T22:38:55.168Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Aspects of the water relations of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in response to induced drought

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

H. G. Jones
H. G. Jones
Affiliation:
Plant Breeding Institute, Trumpington, Cambridge CB2 2LQ
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

This paper describes a field study of the variation in leaf water potential (ѱL), leaf conductance (gL) and other aspects of crop water relations in a set of ten spring wheats. The two main soil moisture regimes used were irrigation and drought; the latter being imposed by placing rainwater gutters between the crop rows to intercept a proportion of any rainfall. The development of plant stresses, the changes in leaf conductances during the growing season and the relationship between these variables and soil moisture depletion are described. Mean daytime leaf water potentials declined during much of the season even in well irrigated plots. There was also evidence that stomata tended to be most open during the period just prior to anthesis. Data on variation of ѱL and gL within the crop are also presented and indicate that most evaporation occurs from the flag leaf in the spring wheat canopy.

Although genotypic variation was found for the mean values of ѱL and gL, interactions between variety and water regime were generally non-significant. Although yields were not well correlated with most aspects of crop water relations measured, partly because of the dominance of other factors such as maturity and disease susceptibility, a strong negative correlation was observed between yield and gL for the period 7–14 days before anthesis.

Stomatal frequencies were not related to leaf conductances and there was no evidence that the stomatal behaviour adapted to previous drought stress. The growth responses observed, however, could be regarded as adaptations for reducing evaporation. The results are discussed in relation to the breeding of drought tolerant varieties of wheat.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 88 , Issue 2 , April 1977 , pp. 267 - 282
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1977

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Austin, R. B. & Jones, H. G. (1975). The physiology of wheat. Plant Breeding Institute, Annual Report for 1974, pp. 20–73.Google Scholar
Bingham, J. (1966). Varietal response in wheat to water supply in the field, and male sterility caused by a period of drought in a glasshouse experiment. Annals of Applied Biology 57, 365–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blum, A. (1973). Component analysis of yield responses to drought of sorghum hybrids. Experimental Agriculture 9, 159–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blum, A. (1974). Genotypic responses in sorghum to drought stress. I. Response to soil moisture stress. Crop Science 14, 361–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Briggle, L. W. & Vogel, O. A. (1968). Breeding for short stature, disease resistant wheats in the United States. Euphytica 17, Supplement 1, 107–30.Google Scholar
Catský, J., Charter, P. H. & Djavanchib, A. (1973). Assimilation nette, utilization de l'eau et mioroclimat d'un champ de Mais. IV. Évolution diurne de la résistance stomatique et du déficit de saturation des feuilles; conséquences sur la fixation du CO2. Annales Agronomiques 24, 287–305.Google Scholar
Ciha, A. J. & Brun, W. A. (1975). Stomatal size and frequency in soybeans. Crop Science 15, 309–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Connor, D. J. (1975). Growth, water relations and yield of wheat. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 2, 353–66.Google Scholar
Dereba, N. F., Mabshall, D. R. & Balaam, L. N. (1969). Genetic variability in root development in relation to drought tolerance in spring wheats. Experimental Agriculture 5, 327–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fischeb, R. A. (1973). The effect of water stress at various stages of development on yield processes in wheat. In Plant Response to Climatic Factors (ed. Slatyer, R. O.), pp. 271–6. Paris: UNESCO.Google Scholar
Gbant, D. R. (1970). Some measurements of evaporation in a field of barley. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 75, 433–43.Google Scholar
Hurd, E. A. (1971). Can we breed for drought resistance? In Drought Injury and Resistance in Crops (ed. Larson, K.L. and Eastin, J. D.). Madison: Crop Soience Society of America.Google Scholar
Hurd, E. A. (1974). Phenotype and drought tolerance in wheat. Agricultural Meteorology 14, 39–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iljin, W. S. (1957). Drought resistance in plants and physiological processes. Annual Review of Plant Physiology 8, 257–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, H. G. (1973). Photosynthesis by thin leaf-slices in solution. II. Osmotio stress and its effect on photosynthesis. Australian Journal of Biological Sciences 26, 25–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, H. G. (1974). Assessment of stomatal control of plant water status. New Phytologist 73, 851–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, H. G. (1976). Crop characteristics and the ratio between assimilation and transpiration. Journal of Applied Ecology 13, 605–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaul, R. & Crowle, W. L. (1971). Relations between water status, leaf temperature, stomatal aperture and productivity in some wheat varieties. Zeitschrift für Pflanzenzuchtung 65, 233–43.Google Scholar
Kaul, R. & Crowle, W. L. (1974). An index derived from photosynthetio parameters for predicting grain yields of drought-stressed wheat cultivars. Zeitschrift fur Pflanzenzuchtung 71, 42–51.Google Scholar
Lawlob, D. W. (1973). Growth and water absorption of wheat with parts of the roots at different water potentials. New Phytologist 72, 297–305.Google Scholar
Lupton, F. G. H., Oliveb, R. H., Ellis, F. B., Barnes, B. T., Howse, K. R., Welbank, P. J. & Taylob, P. J. (1974). Root and shoot growth of semi-dwarf and taller winter wheats. Annals of Applied Biology 77, 129–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, R. J. & Dougherty, C. T. (1976). Diurnal ariation of water potential of wheat under contrasting weather conditions. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 18, 145–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mccree, K. J. (1974). Changes in the stomatal response characteristics of grain sorghum produced by water stress during growth. Crop Science 14, 273–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mccree, K. J. & Davis, S. D. (1974). Effect of water stress and temperature on leaf size and on size and number of epidermal cells in grain sorghum. Crop Science 14, 751—5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Passioura, J. B. (1972). The effect of root geometry on yield of wheat growing on stored water. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 23, 745–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Penman, H. L. (1970). Woburn irrigation, 1960–1968. VI. Results for rotation crops. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 75, 89–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rackham, O. (1972). Responses of the barley crop to soil water stress. In Crop Processes in Controlled Environments(ed. Rees, A. R., Cockshull, K. E., Hand, D. W. and Hurd, R. G.). London: Academio Press.Google Scholar
Salter, P. J. & Goode, J. E. (1967). Crop responses to water at different stages of growth. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Farnham Royal.Google Scholar
Sandhu, A. S. & Laude, H. H. (1958). Tests of drouth and heat hardiness of winter wheat. Agronomy Journa I 50, 78–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegel, S. (1956). Non-Parametric Statistics for the Behavioural Sciences. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Shimshi, D. & Ephrat, J. (1975). Stomatal behaviour of wheat cultivars in relation to their transpiration, photosynthesis and yield. Agnnomy Journal 67, 326–31.Google Scholar
Slatyer, B. O. (1967). Plant-Water Relationships. London: Aoademic Press.Google Scholar
Stone, J. F. (Ed.) (1974). Plant modification for more efficient water use. Agricultural Meteorology 14, 1–320.Google Scholar
Turner, N. C. –Begg, J. E. (1973). Stomatal beha- viour and water status of maize, sorghum and tobacco under field conditions. I. At high soil water potential. Plant Physiology 51, 31–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, B. A.Hyde, V. R. (1974). Plant Breeding Institute, Annual Report for 1973, pp 173–4.Google Scholar