Physiological responses to different substrate water contents: Screening for high water-use efficiency in bedding plants

Abstract

Efficient use of irrigation water is increasingly important in the production of bedding plants. Two approaches to efficient water use include reducing irrigation water wastage during production by growing plants at the optimal substrate water content (θ) and growing species with high water-use efficiency (WUE). However, there is little information on the effects of different θ levels on leaf physiology of bedding plants and variation in WUE among different species of bedding plants. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of θ on leaf water relations, gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, and WUE of bedding plants and to identify the physiological basis for differences in WUE between two bedding plant species. We grew salvia 'Bonfire Red' (Salvia splendens Sellow ex Roemer & J.A. Schultes), vinca 'Cooler Peppermint' [Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don.], petunia 'Lavender White' (Petunia x hybrida Hort ex. Vilm.), and impatiens 'Cherry' (Impatiens walleriana Hook F.) at four constant levels of θ (0.09, 0.15, 0.22, and 0.32 m3·m-3) using an automated irrigation controller. Regardless of species, leaf water potential (Ψw) and leaf photosynthesis (A) of all four species were lower at a θ of 0.09 m3·m-3 and were not different among the other θ levels, but stomatal conductance to H2O (gS) was lower at 0.09 than at 0.15 and 0.22 m3· m-3 and highest at 0.32 m3·m-3. WUE of bedding plants at different θ levels depended on species. The WUE of petunia was unaffected by θ, whereas for the other three species, WUE was higher at a θ of 0.09 m3·m-3 than at 0.32 m3·m-3. Differences in WUE between petunia and salvia were partly from differences in photosynthetic capacity between the two species. Based on the response of A to leaf internal CO2 concentration (Ci), mesophyll conductance to CO2 [g m (a measure of photosynthetic capacity)] was higher in petunia than salvia, whereas gas phase conductance to CO2 (gCO2) was similar for these two species, which resulted in higher WUE in petunia than salvia.