Photosynthetica 2016, 54(3):390-395 | DOI: 10.1007/s11099-016-0186-x

Effect of shade on plant traits, gas exchange and chlorophyll content in four ramie cultivars

C. J. Huang^1,2, G. Wei², Y. C. Jie^1,*, J. J. Xu², S. A. Anjum³, M. Tanveer⁴

¹ Institute of Ramie, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China

² Dazhou Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Sichuan, China

³ College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China

⁴ Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

The objective of this study was to investigate a response to low-light environments in hybrids and commercial cultivars of Boehmeria nivea L. Two hybrids (Chuanzhu 11 and Chuanzhu 8) and two commercial cultivars (Chuanzhu 12 and Chuanzhu 6) of ramie were subjected to a shade treatment for 6, 12, and 18 days. The shade treatment led to a significant decrease in some plant traits and fiber yield in four ramie cultivars, whereas their leaf area and plant height increased. In addition, net photosynthesis and stomatal conductance significantly declined in response to shade, while transpiration rate and intercellular CO₂ did not significantly change. Moreover, chlorophyll (Chl) and carotenoid (Car) concentration, Chl/Car, and Chl (a+b) per leaf dry mass significantly increased in the response to shade, while the Chl a/b ratio decreased. Furthermore, Chuanzhu 6 and Chuanzhu 11 were more tolerant to shade than Chuanzhu 12 and Chuanzhu 8, thus, they could be potentially used for management practices and breeding programs.

Keywords: abiotic stress; Boehmeria nivea; photosynthesis; pigments

Received: October 20, 2014; Accepted: October 30, 2015; Published: September 1, 2016Show citation