The effect of water stress on water relations, carbon isotype discrimination, and shoot and root growth of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) and lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Department of Plant Science at Massey University
Loading...
Date
1994
DOI
Open Access Location
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Massey University
Rights
The Author
Abstract
Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) is a useful forage legume regarded as having drought resistant attributes. Also, it does not cause bloat in ruminants and is not sensitive to alfalfa weevil (Hypera postica. L). Although the physiological and morphological responses to water stress of lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) are well known the responses of sainfoin to water stress have not been fully studied. In this study the physiological and morphological responses of sainfoin to water stress were investigated, with lucerne used as a reference plant. The results of the indoor and outdoor studies showed sainfoin had useful characteristics for forage production in dry conditions. Relative to lucerne it had a lower yield, due to lower leaf area, lower stem number and poor regrowth. However, sainfoin responded to water stress at least as well as lucerne. Sainfoin had a higher root:shoot ratio and a lower specific leaf area ratio than lucerne, indicating a higher allocation of carbohydrate to the roots, and a lower leaf surface area for transpiration in sainfoin than for lucerne. Water stress decreased the yield of lucerne proportionally more than sainfoin mostly due to the greater reduction in the above ground dry weight of lucerne. The indoor study of root characteristics of sainfoin and lucerne in 1m tall tubes showed that in terms of root development sainfoin responded to water stress better than lucerne. Although sainfoin had equal root mass and root length to lucerne, the root distribution of sainfoin at below 0.6 m depths was greater than for lucerne. As water stress developed sainfoin roots grew below 0.6 m earlier than lucerne roots. Sainfoin had a higher root osmotic adjustment than lucerne and also maintained higher (less negative) leaf water potential than lucerne. The stomatal resistances (Rs) of sainfoin and lucerne were equal, but Rs was not distributed equally between adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces. The Rs of the adaxial leaf surface of sainfoin was lower and more sensitive to water stress than the Rs of the abaxial leaf surface. The different Rs of the adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces of sainfoin was partly due to the different stomatal frequencies of the respective surfaces. Comparison of sainfoin cultivars in a climate room showed that the water use efficiencies (WUE) of Remont, Fakir, Cotswold-Common, and Eski, were similar. Remont was more sensitive to water stress than the other three cultivars, and Eski produced a greater root length and mass than other cultivars. The growth of Eski was initially slower than that of the Remont in both the indoor and the outdoor studies. However, lucerne grew faster than all the sainfoin cultivars. Over three harvests in the field the yields of Eski and Remont were similar but lucerne out yielded both sainfoin cultivars. Sainfoin produced a greater proportion of its yield earlier than lucerne, whereas lucerne distributed its yield throughout the whole season, indicating that sainfoin is adapted to regions with precipitation in only winter and spring. The results of the carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) analysis for the indoor and outdoor studies showed Δ had a negative correlation with WUE, leaf water potential, osmotic potential, and stomatal resistance, but had a positive correlation with relative water content, turgor potential, transpiration rate, and photosynthetic rate. These correlations demonstrated the usefulness of this technique for evaluating the responses of plants to water stress. The stressed plants always had lower Δ than the control plants showing the higher WUE of stressed plants. The Δ of roots was higher than the Δ of the leaves suggesting that the growth of leaves occurred in conditions that were an average drier than for the growth of roots. This was supported by the lower (more negative) water potential of leaves than roots. The Δ of the roots below 0.6 m depth was higher than the Δ of roots above 0.1 m depth suggesting the roots above 0.1m grew under higher water stress than the roots below 0.6m depth. Over three harvests in the field the Δ of Eski and lucerne were similar and the Δ of Remont was higher than for Eski and lucerne. In conclusion, sainfoin was found to have several useful attributes for growth and survival in dry regions. Of the sainfoin cultivars examined Eski was the best adapted to water stress. Relative to lucerne, sainfoin yielded less, but had a similar water use efficiency, a shorter season of growth, a greater root: shoot ratio, deeper roots and better maintenance of leaf water potential under water stress.
Description
Keywords
Medicago sativa, Sainfoin, Plant-water relationship, Measurement, Legumes, Onobrychis viciifolia