Abstract
Drought and high temperature are major factors limiting crop production. The two stresses occur together in many regions, but they usually are investigated separately. This study tested the hypothesis that high temperature interacts with drought to affect water relations, and the effect is greater in heat-sensitive wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) than in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench). Wheat and sorghum were grown in soil that was well watered or not watered in controlled chambers at 15/10, 25/20, 35/30 and 40/35 °C day/night. Soil water content (SWC), leaf relative water content (RWC), leaf water potential (Ψ), leaf osmotic potential (π), leaf turgor potential (P) and osmotic adjustment (OA) were determined at 2-d intervals. All values held nearly constant at all temperatures when soil was well watered but were affected strongly by high temperature when water was withheld. The combined stresses reduced SWC, RWC, Psi and π, and unevenly raised P over time, particularly in sorghum. Sorghum also exhibited marked OA at high temperature, which was usually lethal to wheat. High temperature appeared to interact with drought to affect water relations by altering SWC and not by influencing OA. The results demonstrated that crops maintain nearly stable water relations regardless of temperature when moisture is ample, but high temperature strongly affects water relations when water is limiting. Increasing the thermotolerance of wheat might improve its potential to acclimate to both high temperature and drought.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acevedo E H, Silva P C, Silva H R and Solar B R 1999 Wheat production in Mediterranean environments. In Wheat: Ecology and Physiology of Yield Determination. Eds. EH Satorre and GA Slafer. pp 295–331. Food Products Press, Binghamton, NY.
Al-Khatib K and Paulsen G M 1984 Mode of high temperature injury to wheat during grain development. Physiol. Plant. 61, 363–368.
Blum A 1996 Crop responses to drought and the interpretation of adaptation. Plant Growth Reg. 20, 135–148.
Blum A, Ramaiah S, Kanemasu E T and Paulsen G M 1990 The physiology of heterosis in sorghum with respect to environmental stress. Ann. Bot. 65, 149–158.
Boyer J S 1995 Measuring the water status of plants and soils. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.
Bray E A 1993 Molecular responses to water deficits. Plant Physiol. 103, 1035–1040.
Chapman S R and Carter L P 1976 Crop production: Principles and practices. Freeman and Co., San Francisco, CA.
Craufurd P Q, Flower D J and Peacock J M 1993 Effect of heat and drought stress on sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). I. Panicle development and leaf appearance. Exp. Agric. 29, 61–76.
Garrity D P, Sullivan C Y and Watts D G 1984 Changes in grain sorghum stomatal and photosynthetic response to moisture stress across growth stages. Crop Sci. 24, 441–446.
Gates D M 1968 Transpiration and leaf temperature. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. 19, 211–238.
Gunasekera D and Berkowitz G A 1992 Evaluation of contrasting cellular-level acclimation responses to leaf water deficits in three wheat genotypes. Plant Sci. 86, 1–12.
Hall A E and Schulze E-D 1980 Drought effects on transpiration and leaf water status of cowpea in controlled environments. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 7, 141–147.
Hsiao T C 1973 Plant responses to water stress. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. 24, 519–570.
Jones G G 1978 Transpirational, leaf area, stomatal and photosynthetic responses to gradually induced water stress in four temperate herbage species. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 5, 113–125.
Jones M M and Turner N C 1978 Osmotic adjustment in leaves of sorghum in response to water deficits. Plant Physiol. 61, 122–126.
Kirkham M B 1990 Plant responses to water deficits. In Irrigation of Agricultural Crops. Eds. BA Stewart and DR Nielsen. Agron. Monogr. 30. pp 323–341. ASA, CSSA, and SSSA, Madison, WI.
Kramer P J 1980 Drought stress and origin of adaptation. In Adaptation of Plants to Water and High Temperature Stress. Eds. NC Turner and PJ Kramer. pp 6–20. John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY.
Kramer P J and Boyer J S 1995 Water relations of plants and soil. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.
Kumar R Gajri P R and Prihard S S 1985 Water use by wheat as affected by soil moisture, rooting, canopy and evaporation. Indian J. Agric. Sci. 55, 570–573.
Lawlor D W 1979 Effects of water and heat stress on carbon metabolism of plants with C3 and C4 photosynthesis. In Stress Physiology in Crop Plants. Eds. H Mussel and RC Staples. pp 304–326. John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY.
Levitt J 1972 Responses of plants to environmental stress. Academic Press, New York, NY.
Li X, Feng Y and Boersma L 1993 Comparison of osmotic adjustment responses to water and temperature stresses in spring wheat and Sudangrass. Ann. Bot. 71, 303–310.
Ludlow M M, Chu A C P, Clements R J and Kerslake R G 1983 Adaptation of species of Centrosema to water stress. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 10, 119–130.
Morgan J M 1984 Osmoregulation and water stress in higher plants. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. 35, 299–319.
Nicolas ME, Gleadow RM and Dalling MJ 1984 Effects of drought and high temperature on grain growth in wheat. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 11, 553–566.
Nooden L D 1980 Senescence in the whole plant. In Senescence in Plants. Ed. KV Thimann. pp 219–258. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Olufayo A, Baldy C, Ruelle P and Konate J 1993 Diurnal course of canopy temperature and leaf water potential of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) under a Mediterranean climate. Agric. For. Meteorol. 64, 223–236.
Parker W C and Pallardy S G 1985 Genotypic variation in tissue water relations of leaves and roots of black walnut (Juglans nigra) seedlings. Physiol. Plant. 64, 105–110.
Parker W C and Pallardy S G 1987 The influence of resaturation method and tissue type on pressure-volume analysis of Quercus alba L. seedlings. J. Exp. Bot. 38, 535–549.
Paulsen G M 1994 High temperature responses of crop plants. In Physiology and Determination of Crop Yield. Eds. KT Boote, JM Bennett, TR Sinclair and GM Paulsen. pp 365–389. ASA, SSA and SSSA. Madison, WI.
Salih A A, Ali I A, Lux A, Luxova M, Cohen Y, Sugimoto Y and Inanaga S 1999 Rooting, water uptake and xylem structure adaptation to drought of two sorghum cultivars. Crop Sci. 39, 168–173.
SAS Institute Inc. 1985 SAS user guide: Statistics. Version 5 Edition. Cary, NC.
Slatyer R O 1963 Climatic control of plant water relations. In Environmental Control of Plant Growth. Ed. LT Evans. pp 34–54. Academic Press, New York, NY.
Svihra J, Brestic M and Olsovska K 1996 The effect of water and temperature stresses on productivity of winter wheat varieties. Rostlinna Vyroba 42, 425–429.
Turner N C 1979 Drought resistance and adaptation to water deficits in crop plants. In Stress Physiology in Crop Plants. Eds. H Mussel and RC Staples. pp 181–194. Wiley-Interscience Publ., New York, NY.
Turner N C 1981 Techniques and experimental approaches for the measurement of plant water status. Plant Soil 58, 339–366.
Turner N C 1986 Adaptation to water deficits: A changing perspective. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 13, 175–190.
Turner N C and Begg J E 1981 Plant water relations and adaptations to stress. Plant Soil 58, 97–131.
Turner N C and Jones M M 1980 Turgor maintenance by osmotic adjustment: A review and evaluation. In Adaptation of Plants to Water and High Temperature Stress. Eds. NC Turner and PJ Kramer. pp 87–103. John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY.
Wilson J R, Fisher M J, Schulze E-D, Dolby G R and Ludlow M M 1979 Comparison between pressure-volume and dewpoint hygrometry techniques for determining the water relation characteristics of grass and legume leaves. Oecologia 41, 77–88.
Zhang J and Kirkham M B 1999 Hydraulic resistance of sorghum (C4) and sunflower (C3). In Water Use for Crop Production. Ed. MB Kirkham. pp 287–298. Food Products Press, Binghamton, NY.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Machado, S., Paulsen, G.M. Combined effects of drought and high temperature on water relations of wheat and sorghum. Plant and Soil 233, 179–187 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010346601643
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010346601643