Nutritional Efficiency of Eucalyptus Clones Under Water Stress

Abstract

Plant health and nutrition are strongly influenced by the availability of water. The objective of this study was to evaluate the different patterns of initial growth and nutritional efficiency of ten drought-stressed Eucalyptus clones. Water stress conditions were induced by osmotic stress, by gradual addition of polyethylene glycol 6000 over a 20-day period. Drought stress significantly reduced the dry matter of leaves, roots, and the whole plant as well as the nutritional efficiency of most clones. Clone PL040 was the least efficient in nutrient uptake and use and the most sensitive to drought stress. Interestingly, under drought stress, the drought-tolerant clones generally had high AE (absorption efficiency), but low nutrient UE (use efficiency), whereas the sensitive clones had low AE and low UE for root formation and high AE for leaf formation. In a combined evaluation of growth and nutrient use efficiency, the clones vc865, i182, i144, and gg157 were grouped as drought-tolerant; 1528 and i224 as moderately tolerant; and 1641, 3367, i042, and PL040 as drought-sensitive.

Partial Substitution of K by Na Alleviates Drought Stress and Increases Water Use Efficiency in Eucalyptus Species Seedlings

“…We hypothesize that evaluations in leaf scale as A , E , and g s produce accurate data of a specific time and may not always be reliable in predicting whole plant responses throughout their cycle ( Jákli et al, 2016 ), which in turn can be reflected by δ 13 C‰ and WUE ( Condon et al, 2002 ), integrative indicators of changes in the environmental conditions that occur during the entire experimental period ( Seibt et al, 2008 ). Furthermore, drought stress reduced EU K and EU Na , being an adaptive strategy favoring nutrient accumulation in an unfavorable soil–climate situation to subsequently increase nutrient translocation and use under favorable growth conditions ( Müller et al, 2017 ).…”

“…Plants can behave differently under nutritional stress conditions and vary in nutritional efficiency ( Pita-Barbosa et al, 2016 ), which allows some species to grow more at the highest levels of Na ( Subbarao et al, 2003 ). However, despite the great variety of studies involving nutrient application, plant growth, and water deficit ( Müller et al, 2017 ), studies involving K and Na use efficiency of different species and water regimes are still scarce. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the partial replacement of K by Na and its impacts on water use and K use efficiency in three useful Eucalyptus species under different water conditions, investigating to what extent Na can substitute K and attenuate the effects of drought.…”

Quantification of damage and initial growth of eucalyptus in integrated crop-livestock-forest systems in the Brazilian Cerrado

“…Thus, when the attack of the bees causes damage to the young stems and growth points to remove the resin and exudates, it also induces stress in the plant, leading to the emission of lateral branches. In addition, other factors such as water stress, weed competition and climbing plants may have contributed to the delay in the development of E. cloeziana in the ICLF system (Ngugi et al 2004;Muller et al 2017).…”

Photosynthetic performance in Eucalyptus clones cultivated in saline soil

“…Three Eucalyptus clones were chosen due to their importance in the Alagoas State plantations. Thus, clones VC865, I224, and I144 were selected, which resulted from the hybridization process between E. grandis and E. urophylla, classified as tolerant, tolerant and moderately tolerant to drought, respectively (Muller et al, 2017).…”