WU Li-feng, LI Pei-ling, YANG Xiu-xia, YAN Hui
Water Saving Irrigation. 2017, (6):
6-10.
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Abstract: In order to better understand the regulation mechanism of gas exchange and water use in maize by water deficit, leaf water potential, gas exchange, xylem sap and leaf ABA concentration during progressive soil drying were measured, and also physiological regulation of stomatal aperture and water use efficiency by chemical signal ABA and leaf water potential was analyzed in this study. The results showed that, with the increase of root-sourced ABA which transported by xylem sap, leaf ABA increased significantly and induced stomatal closure effectively prior to any change in leaf water status after 2 days of water deficit. In this phase, ABA-induced stomatal closure significantly reduced transpiration but have less impacts on photosynthesis, which caused the increase of water use efficiency compared with controls. However, accompanied by continued soil drying, leaf water potential?was decreased significantly after 5 days of water deficit treatment. Ultimately, leaf photosynthesis and transpiration rate was decreased rapidly under combined action of the increase in ABA and the decrease in leaf water potential, and water use efficiency in maize showed a trend of decrease. Regression analysis showed that water use efficiency in maize was correlated with leaf ABA concentration (R2=0.470,P<0.05) but not leaf water potential during the experiment. It is indicated that chemical signal ABA play an important role in improving water use efficiency of maize. This study indicated the theoretical basis of deficit irrigation, and provided a biological basis for using chemical signal ABA increase crop water use efficiency.