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Australian Journal of Botany Australian Journal of Botany Society
Southern hemisphere botanical ecosystems
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Responses of young plants of Vachellia farnesiana to drought

Josiane Moura A and Evandro A. Vieira https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7464-7710 A B C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Laboratory of Biology, State University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Coxim–MS, Brazil.

B Department of Plant Biology, Institute of Biology, State University of Campinas, Campinas-SP, Brazil.

C Corresponding author. Email: evieirae@gmail.com

Australian Journal of Botany 68(8) 587-594 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT20043
Submitted: 23 April 2020  Accepted: 30 October 2020   Published: 8 December 2020

Abstract

Water availability in soil modulates plant acclimatisation responses in different habitats. In this study, we evaluated the effect of water deficit on the physiological, biochemical and growth responses of Vachellia farnesiana. Open environment experiment was conducted during 90 days and two conditions of hydration were tested: full hydration (H) and water deficit (WD) at 25% of field capacity. The relative water content (RWC) of the leaves under WD showed a 30.2% decrease (P < 0.01), compared with the hydrated plants at 30 days. A decrease in the RWC led to decrease in the osmotic potential (Ψs), quantum yield of PSII (Fv/Fm) and lesser content of chlorophylls a and b under WD. A greater carotenoid content and simultaneous increase in the content of proline, H2O2 and phenolic compounds of the leaves was also observed in WD. Water deficit also promoted differences in the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium content of the leaves when compared with hydrated plants. Although they showed growth deficit, plants of V. farnesiana demonstrated resistance to WD through physiological and biochemical adjustments.

Keywords: chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, foliar nutrients, growth, osmotic regulation, oxidative stress, tropical forests, Vachellia farnesiana, water deficit.


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