the anatomical and epidermal characteristics, as well as the physiological response, of 'colombia' ecotype cape gooseberry plants treated or untreated with foliar applications of kaolin at 2 irrigation levels (well-irrigated plants vs. water-stressed plants) were evaluated. relative water content (rwc), stomatal density, and chlorophyll index were reduced under water stress. water stress increa...

Three leaf water models (two-pool model, Péclet effect, and string-of-lakes) were assessed for their robustness in predicting leaf water enrichment and its spatial heterogeneity. This was achieved by studying the (18)O spatial patterns of vein xylem water, leaf water, and dry matter in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) leaves grown at different humidities using new experimental approaches. Vein xylem...

Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing the wheat vacuolar Na(+)/H(+) antiporter TNHX1 and H(+)-PPase TVP1 are much more resistant to high concentrations of NaCl and to water deprivation than the wild-type strains. These transgenic plants grow well in the presence of 200 mM NaCl and also under a water-deprivation regime, while wild-type plants exhibit chlorosis and growth inhibition. Leaf ...

Terminal drought is a risk for wheat production in many parts of the world. Robust physiological traits for resilience would enhance the preselection of breeding lines in drought-prone areas. Three pot experiments were undertaken to characterize stem water-solublecarbohydrate (WSC), fructan exohydrolase expression, grain filling and leaf gas exchange in wheat (Triticum aestivum) varieties, Kauz...

It is difficult to retain and localize radioactive, water-soluble compounds within plant cells. Existing techniques retain water-soluble compounds with varying rates of efficiency and are limited to processing only a few samples at one time. We developed a modified pressure infiltration technique for the preparation of microautoradiographs of (14)C-labeled, water-soluble compounds in plant tiss...

The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), is the primary vector of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Las) associated with huanglongbing, or citrus greening, the most devastating citrus (Citrus spp.) disease worldwide. Here, we developed a new “excised-leaf assay” that can speed upLas-inoculativity tests on Asian citrus psyllid from the current 3Ð12mo (when usi...

Many leaves survive the severing of their major veins in apparently excellent health. According to the classical explanation, the leaf minor veins provide "conductive overload," an excess of parallel conductive paths, rendering the major veins hydraulically dispensable. Whether such an excess of conductive paths exists has important implications for vascular design and for leaf response to vasc...

Leaf water potential, leaf relative water content, and relative transpiration of barley were determined daily under greenhouse conditions at 3 growth stages: tillering to boot, boot to heading, and heading to maturity. The leaf moisture characteristic curve (relative water content versus leaf water potential) was the same for leaves of the same age growing in the same environment for the first ...

The functional adjustments of winter-deciduous perennials to Mediterranean conditions have received little attention. The objectives of this study were: (i) to determine whether Amelanchier ovalis, a winter-deciduous shrub of Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean regions, has nutritional and phenological traits in common with temperate zone deciduous trees and shrubs and (ii) to determine the con...

Fuel moisture content (FMC) is used in forest fire danger models to characterise the moisture status of the foliage. FMC expresses the amount of water in a leaf relative to the amount of dry matter and differs from measures of leaf water content which express the amount of water in a leaf relative to its area. FMC is related to both leaf water content and leaf dry matter content, and the relati...