The growth and production of sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] crops under semi-arid conditions in the Mediterranean environment of southern Italy are constrained by water stress. The effects of temporary water stress on growth and productivity of sweet sorghum were studied during three seasons at Rutigliano (Bari, Italy). The aim of this research was to evaluate the sensitivity of ph...

Predicted increases in the frequency and duration of drought are expected to negatively affect tree vitality, but we know little about how water shortage will influence needle anatomy and thereby the trees' photosynthetic and hydraulic capacity. In this study, we evaluated anatomical changes in sun and shade needles of 20-year-old Norway spruce trees exposed to artificial drought stress. Canopy...

Drought tolerance was evaluated in twelve cultivars of three ornamental Tagetes species (T. patula, T. tenuifolia and T. erecta). A stress treatment was performed by completely stopping watering of plants maintained in controlled greenhouse conditions. After three weeks, several plant growth parameters (stem length (SL), fresh weight (FW) and water content (WC)), photosynthetic pigments (chloro...

The influence of the specific Descolea antarctica (Da) and the non-specific Pisolithus tinctorious (Pt) ectomycorrhizal fungi on some physiological leaf parameters of the Chilean evergreen Nothofagus dombeyi subjected to a low soil water potential (-1.6 to -1.9 MPa in a growth chamber for 35 days) and a high water potential (-0.07 to -0.09 MPa, control) was studied. Drought decreased the water ...

The ER-resident molecular chaperone BiP (binding protein) was overexpressed in soybean. When plants growing in soil were exposed to drought (by reducing or completely withholding watering) the wild-type lines showed a large decrease in leaf water potential and leaf wilting, but the leaves in the transgenic lines did not wilt and exhibited only a small decrease in water potential. During exposur...

Plants inhabiting degraded habitats must contend with stressful environments. However, their ability to adapt may be constrained by available genetic variation and genetic correlations between traits. Here, we examine the correlation between salt and drought tolerance in germinating seeds from contrasting populations of common teasel (Dipsacus fullonum subsp. sylvestris) growing on roadsides th...

We examined the extent of osmotic adjustment and the changes in relative water content (RWC) and transpiration rate (i.e., relative stomatal function) that occur in water-deficit-conditioned 6-year-old Thuja occidentalis L. (eastern white cedar) trees in response to a severe drought. Trees conditioned by successive cycles of mild or moderate nonlethal water stress (conditioning) and nonconditio...

Many studies have shown that local landraces are found to be better adapted to changing climatic conditions. The screening of local land races is one of important processes to detect drought tolerant behavior of crop species to further verify in similar field situation and genomic/molecular level studies. In 2009 for main season rice, a study was done to identify different land races of rice in...

The present study aimed at investigating the effects of chronic multiple stress on learning and memory functions of rats. Adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into stressed and control groups. Rats in the stressed group were irregularly and alternately exposed to the situation of vertical revolution, sleep deprivation, noise stimulation, and night illumination 6 h per day for 6 weeks to...