Photosynthetica 2010, 48(4):481-487 | DOI: 10.1007/s11099-010-0064-x

Biomass partition, leaf gas exchange and water relations of alfalfa and milkvetch seedlings in response to soil drying

B. C. Xu1,2,*, X. P. Deng1,2, S. Q. Zhang1,2, L. Shan1,2
1 State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, P.R. China
2 Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, Shaanxi, P.R. China

This study compared physiological and growth responses to water stress of two legume species during the seedling stage. Potted alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. cv. Algonquin) and milkvetch (Astragalus adsurgens Pall. cv. Pengyang earlymaturing vetch) seedlings were grown under well-watered [soil water content (SWC) maintained at 14.92% daily] or water-stressed conditions (drying) for 15 days. Net photosynthetic rate (P N), transpiration rate (E) and stomatal conductance (g s) of both species decreased parabolically. When SWC decreased to 7.2% and 10.3%, g s values for alfalfa and milkvetch were significantly different from those of the respective well-watered plants (p<0.05). When SWC decreased to 6.6% for alfalfa and 6.8% for milkvetch, leaf water potentials (ψL) were significantly different from those of the well-watered plants (p<0.05). Thus the difference between the SWC thresholds for a nonhydraulic root signal (nHRS) and a hydraulic root signal (HRS) were 0.6% and 3.5% for alfalfa and milkvetch, respectively. Milkvetch had a lower g s than alfalfa for a given SWC (p<0.05). Although alfalfa seedlings had a higher dry mass (DM) and root:shoot ratio (R/S) than milkvetch in both treatments (p<0.05), we concluded that milkvetch seedlings had greater drought tolerance than alfalfa.

Keywords: hydraulic root signal; root:shoot ratio; nonhydraulic root signal; water stress

Received: November 2, 2009; Accepted: May 13, 2010; Published: December 1, 2010Show citation

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Xu, B.C., Deng, X.P., Zhang, S.Q., & Shan, L. (2010). Biomass partition, leaf gas exchange and water relations of alfalfa and milkvetch seedlings in response to soil drying. Photosynthetica, 48(4), 481-487. doi: 10.1007/s11099-010-0064-x.
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