Plant Responses and Control of Water Balance

Water Deficits and Plant Growth, Volume III: Plant Responses and Control of Water Balance focuses on the influence of water deficits on shrinkage of plant tissues, seed germination, reproductive growth, and internal plant responses such as protoplasmic resistance to desiccation, enzymatic activity, nitrogen metabolism, hormonal relations, and mineral nutrition. This book also considers alleviation and control of water deficits in plants.
This volume is organized into 10 chapters and begins with an overview of shrinkage and swelling in plant tissues and their biological implications, along with some basic aspects of seed germination and environmental factors affecting germination as well as its relation to soil moisture. The discussion then shifts to the impact of water deficits on growth of fruits at different stages of development, from flowering to fruit ripening, and the ability of the protoplasm to survive a serious reduction in water content (known as protoplasmic resistance). The following chapters explore the effects of water deficits on enzyme activity, nutrient availability, nitrogen metabolism, and hormonal distribution in plants. This book also looks at transpiration in plants and how to reduce it, and then concludes with a chapter on soil water conservation as a problem of management of available water resources in the context of agriculture. This book is a valuable resource for scientists and investigators in fields such as botany, plant pathology, forestry, and agriculture.

List of Contributors

Preface

Contents of Other Volumes

1. Shrinking and Swelling of Plant Tissues

I. Introduction

II. Vegetative Tissues

III. Reproductive Tissues

IV. Measurement of Shrinkage and Swelling

V. Biological Implications of Shrinkage and Swelling of Plants

References

2. Soil Moisture and Seed Germination

I. Introduction

II. Some Basic Aspects of Germination

III. Several Environmental Factors Affecting Germination

IV. Moisture Relations of Germination

V. Control Measures

References

3. Water Deficits and Reproductive Growth

I. Introduction

II. Water Deficits and Growth of Fruits at Different Stages of Development

III. Factors Affecting the Water Relations of Fruits

IV. Fruit Disorders Related to Water

References

4. Protoplasmic Resistance to Water Deficits

I. Introduction

II. Desiccation Effects on Protoplasm

III. Natural Mechanisms of Protoplasmic Resistance

IV. Conclusions

References

5. Water Deficits and Enzymatic Activity

I. Introduction

II. Effect of Water Deficits on Enzyme Activity Found in the "Soluble" Fraction

III. Effect of Water Deficits on Organelle Processes or Multiple Enzyme Systems

IV. Enzyme Action at Very Low Moisture Contents

V. State of Enzymes in Organs or Organisms That Can Be Air Dried or Subjected to Very High Water Deficits

VI. Denaturation of Enzymes at Low Water Contents

VII. Hydration of Macromolecules

VIII. Drying of Purified and Crystalline Enzymes

IX. Conclusions

References

6. Water Deficits and Nutrient Availability

I. Introduction

II. The Importance of Water to Nutrition

III. Water Deficit and Nutrient Transport to the Root

IV. Nutrient Absorption at Controlled Soil Water Suction

V. Nutrient Availability as Affected by the Soil Water Regime

VI. The Changing Water and Nutrient Availability Patterns in the Field

VII. The Significance of Lower Nutrient Availability Associated with Drought

VIII. Conclusions

References

7. Water Deficits and Nitrogen Metabolism

I. Introduction

II. Water Stress and Protein Metabolism

References

8. Water Deficits and Hormone Relations

I. Introduction

II. Effect of Water Deficits on Hormonal Distribution

III. Effect of Hormones on Transpiration

IV. Hormones and Water Balance

References

9. Physiological Basis and Practical Problems of Reducing Transpiration

I. Introduction

II. Various Approaches to Reduction of Transpiration

III. The Dependence of the Effect of Stomata-Closing and Film-Forming Antitranspirants on Environmental Conditions

IV. Summary and Conclusions

References

10. Soil Water Conservation

I. Introduction

II. The Field Water Balance

III. The Field Water Cycle

IV. Infiltration Control

V. Drainage

VI. Limiting Bare Soil Evaporation

VII. Irrigation and Water-Use Efficiency

VIII. Runoff Inducement and Utilization

References

Author Index

Subject Index