Drought induced changes in growth, leaf gas exchange and biomass production in Albizia lebbeck and Cassia siamea seedlings.
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Date
2011-03
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Abstract
Diurnal trends in net photosynthesis rate (PN ), stomatal conductance (gs ), water use efficiency (WUE) and
biomass were compared in six-month-old seedlings of Albizia lebbeck and Cassia siamea, under different levels
of drought stress. The potted plants were subjected to four varying drought treatment by withholding watering for
7 (D1), 14 (D2) and 25 (D3) days. The fourth group (C) was watered daily and treated as unstressed (control).
Species differed significantly (p<0.001) in their physiological performance under varying stress conditions.
Higher PN of 11.6 ± 0.05 in control followed by 4.35 ± 0.4 in D1 and 2.83 ± 0.18 @mol m-2 s-1 in D2 was
observed in A. lebbeck. A significant (p<0.001) reduction in PN was observed in C. siamea ( C 7.65 ± 0.5 @mol
m-2 s-1, D1, 2.56 ± 0.33 @mol m-2 s-1 and D2, 1.4 ± 0.01 @mol m-2 s-1 ) at 9 hr. A positive correlation was seen
between PN and gs (A. lebbeck, r2= 0.84; C. siamea, r2= 0.82). Higher WUE was observed in C. siamea
(D2, 7.1± 0.18 @mol m-2 s-1; D3, 8.39 ± 0.11 @mol m-2 s-1) than A. lebbeck, (control, 7.58 ± 0.3 @mol m-2 s-1
and D3, 8.12 ± 0.15 @mol m-2 s-1). The chlorophyll and relative water content (RWC) was more in A. lebbeck
than C. siamea. Maximum biomass was produced by A. lebbeck than C. siamea. From the study, one could
conclude that A. lebbeck is better than C. siamea in adopting suitable resource management strategy and be best
suited for the plantation programs in the semi-arid dry lands.
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Keywords
Albizia lebbeck, Cassia siamea, Leaf gas exchange, Photosynthesis rate, Stomatal conductance, Water use efficiency, Biomass, Drought stress
Citation
Saraswathi S Gnaana, Paliwal Kailash. Drought induced changes in growth, leaf gas exchange and biomass production in Albizia lebbeck and Cassia siamea seedlings. Journal of Environmental Biology. 2011 Mar; 32(2): 173-178.