Water stress and water-use efficiency in field grown wheat: A comparison of its efficiency with that of C4 plants

✍ Scribed by P.K. Aggarwal; S.K. Sinha

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1983
• Weight: 472 KB
• Volume: 29
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0002-1571
• DOI: 10.1016/0002-1571(83)90063-8

✦ Synopsis

Aggarwal, P.K, and Sinha, S.K., 1983. Water stress and water-use efficiency in field grown wheat: a comparison of its efficiency with that of Ca plants. Agric. Meteorol.,.

Two cultivars of wheat, contrasting in their drought resistance characteristics, were grown under irrigated and non-irrigated conditions in the field for two seasons. The water-use efficiency (WUE) ranged from 0.5 to 13.8g dry matter kg -1 water used depending upon the growth stage, cultivar and water stress. The average WUE for the season was between 3.34 and 4.70g dry matter kg -1 water used. Regression analysis indicated that WUE was a function of dry matter produced and had no direct statistical relationship with the weather parameters. The WUE of plants having the C3 system of photosynthesis, like wheat, need not be poorer than the plants with the C4 system if comparisons are made of plants growing in their respective preferred ecological niches. Various possible reasons for the low values of WUE reported for C3 plants are discussed.