Leaf Water Potentials Measured with a Pressure Chamber

Leaf water potentials were estimated from the sum of the balancing pressure measured with a pressure chamber and the osmotic potential of the xylem sap in leafy shoots or leaves. When leaf water potentials in yew, rhododendron, and sunflower were compared with those measured with a thermocouple psychrometer known to indicate accurate values of leaf water potential, determinations were within +/- 2 bars of the psychrometer measurements with sunflower and yew. In rhododendron. water potentials measured with the pressure chamber plus xylem sap were 2.5 bars less negative to 4 bars more negative than psychrometer measurements.The discrepancies in the rhododendron measurements could be attributed, at least in part, to the filling of tissues other than xylem with xylem sap during measurements with the pressure chamber. It was concluded that, although stem characteristics may affect the measurements, pressure chamber determinations were sufficiently close to psychrometer measurements that the pressure chamber may be used for relative measurements of leaf water potentials, especially in sunflower and yew. For accurate determinations of leaf water potential, however, pressure chamber measurements must be calibrated with a thermocouple psychrometer.