Embolized Stems Recover Overnight in Zea mays: The Role of Soil Water, Root Pressure, and Nighttime Transpiration.

ABSTRACT: It is not currently well-understood how much xylem conductance is lost in maize plants during the day, if conductance is recovered during the night, or what soil water conditions are required for recovery to take place. To answer these questions we designed a greenhouse experiment whereby two genetically dissimilar maize genotypes were subjected to a level of water stress commonly experienced in the field (Ψ_xylem ∼-2 MPa). We then measured the loss of stem-specific conductivity associated with this level of stress, as well as the overnight recovery following three re-watering treatments: Ψ_soil ∼ 0 MPa, Ψ_soil ∼-0.40 MPa, and Ψ_soil ∼-1.70 MPa. Mid-day leaf water potentials of -1.98 MPa resulted in stem-specific conductivity (K_S) values t

SUBMITTER: Gleason SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5408072 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature