Discussion
Leaf number, leaf area, plant height and plant spread: The effects of different levels of water stress on the growth parameters like leaf number, leaf area, plant height and plant spread of S. aethiopicum was recorded maximum in the plants grown at 100% PC. Treatments T1 and T2 (75% PC and 50% PC) did not show the significant difference, though there was drastic reduction in growth at 25% PC. Highest recording of all the parameters in 100% PC probably attributed to the optimum supply of water required for the growth of plants. This finding is in line with the findings of Muthomi & Musyimi (2009) where lowered irrigated S. scabrum MILL plants showed 97% reduction in leaf area compared to full water irrigated plants. In case of S. …show more content…
So, the declining in Chlorophyll content is due to decrease in soil water content. However, those plants which can maintain high total Chlorophyll content by using more light energy under water stress condition thought to have a mechanism of drought resistance (Fang and Xiong, 2015; Armand, et al., 2016). The plants at 50% PC and 75% PC were at par regarding Chlorophyll content (Chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll b and total Chlorophyll) and leaf water content in S. aethiopicum. But in case of S. macrocarpon Chlorophyll content was drastically collapsed with decreased in water levels and it might occurred due to the statements given by Fang and Xiong, 2014; Armand, et al., …show more content…
aethiopicum in terms of growth and yield of fruits was normal when there was successive reduction of pot capacity from 100% to 50%, whereas there was declining trend of photosynthetic activities in S. macrocarpon. The plant performance was declined drastically even at 50% PC. Photosynthesis is an important physiological process occurring in all green plants. Low photosynthetic rate is one of the negative effects of water stress in plants as plants close the stomata to reduce water loss that blocks the uptake of CO2 from air (Armand et al., 2016; Rao and Chiatanya, 2016).One of the early and significant adaptive to stress induced by water deficit to plants is closure of stomata that leads to limitation of CO2 uptake (Ahmad et al., 2014). Under the limited water availability in the soil, the capability of plants to perform its normal photosynthetic activities (with less reduction) by closing the stomata to avoid the excess amount of water loss increase the water use efficiency (Chaves et al.,
Leaf number, leaf area, plant height and plant spread: The effects of different levels of water stress on the growth parameters like leaf number, leaf area, plant height and plant spread of S. aethiopicum was recorded maximum in the plants grown at 100% PC. Treatments T1 and T2 (75% PC and 50% PC) did not show the significant difference, though there was drastic reduction in growth at 25% PC. Highest recording of all the parameters in 100% PC probably attributed to the optimum supply of water required for the growth of plants. This finding is in line with the findings of Muthomi & Musyimi (2009) where lowered irrigated S. scabrum MILL plants showed 97% reduction in leaf area compared to full water irrigated plants. In case of S. …show more content…
So, the declining in Chlorophyll content is due to decrease in soil water content. However, those plants which can maintain high total Chlorophyll content by using more light energy under water stress condition thought to have a mechanism of drought resistance (Fang and Xiong, 2015; Armand, et al., 2016). The plants at 50% PC and 75% PC were at par regarding Chlorophyll content (Chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll b and total Chlorophyll) and leaf water content in S. aethiopicum. But in case of S. macrocarpon Chlorophyll content was drastically collapsed with decreased in water levels and it might occurred due to the statements given by Fang and Xiong, 2014; Armand, et al., …show more content…
aethiopicum in terms of growth and yield of fruits was normal when there was successive reduction of pot capacity from 100% to 50%, whereas there was declining trend of photosynthetic activities in S. macrocarpon. The plant performance was declined drastically even at 50% PC. Photosynthesis is an important physiological process occurring in all green plants. Low photosynthetic rate is one of the negative effects of water stress in plants as plants close the stomata to reduce water loss that blocks the uptake of CO2 from air (Armand et al., 2016; Rao and Chiatanya, 2016).One of the early and significant adaptive to stress induced by water deficit to plants is closure of stomata that leads to limitation of CO2 uptake (Ahmad et al., 2014). Under the limited water availability in the soil, the capability of plants to perform its normal photosynthetic activities (with less reduction) by closing the stomata to avoid the excess amount of water loss increase the water use efficiency (Chaves et al.,