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Recovery of Leaf Water Potential, Transpiration, and Photosynthesis of Cotton During Irrigation Cycles
Author(s) -
Bielorai H.,
Hopmans P. A. M.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj1975.00021962006700050011x
Subject(s) - transpiration , photosynthesis , irrigation , environmental science , water content , agronomy , soil water , gossypium hirsutum , moisture stress , moisture , chemistry , soil science , biology , botany , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , engineering
The ability of a plant to recover from temporary and/or prolonged stress and the rate of recovery are of great importance in crop production. However, the information available on this subject is relatively scarce. A study was conducted to evaluate the recovery of irrigated cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L. ‘Acala 15–17’) following soil moisture stress of various durations through the measurements of soil moisture stress (Ψ s ) using 1) the soil‐moisture retention function, leaf water potential (Ψ l ), by pressure bomb, and 2) leaf diffusion resistance (R l ), by diffusive resistance porometer. Photosynthesis was measured by an infrared gas analyzer, and transpiration by weighing. The experiment was conducted in a controlled climate room. Leaf water potential (Ψ l ) was linearly related to that in the soil (Ψ s ) (Ψ l = 0.609 Ψ s − 9.77 atm). Diffusion resistance of the leaves showed a curvilinear dependence on Ψ s with a marked inflection between −10 and −14 atm. Neither leaf resistance nor transpiration fully returned to pre‐stress conditions after irrigation, and even the partial recovery required several days. Continuous measurements of net photosynthesis also showed a delayed and only partial recovery from soil water stress. It is concluded that the observed reduction in dry matter increase is due mainly to the failure in net photosynthesis recovery after re‐irrigation.