Physiological Responses of Physalis angulata Plants to Water Deficit

Abstract

It’s known that drought affects crop growth, however, little is known about the physiological responses developed under these conditions by underexploited species, such as Physalis angulata. This study aimed at assessing the physiological responses of Physalis angulata plants after 40 days under different water availability (100%, 80%, 60%, 40% and 20% of pot field capacity). In this research, the effects of the water deficit on the relative water content, water potential, gas exchange, sugars accumulation and activity of nitrate reductase were evaluated. Water relations were affected mainly in plants under severe water deficit, however, the variables remained stable when cultivated at sub-optimal levels of field capacity. Gas exchanges were also affected by water deficit, with reduction in carbon assimilation, internal carbon, stomatal conductance and transpiration, as well as increased leaf temperature and water use efficiency. Plants accumulated sugars as a mechanism of tolerance to severe water deficit, while nitrate reductase activity was reduced. P. angulata plants develop important strategies to tolerate water deficit, contributing to the establishment of crops under low water availability.

Proline and sodium nitroprusside increase the tolerance of Physalis peruviana L. plants to water deficit through chemical priming

“…The reduction of CO 2 assimilation in plants under water deficit conditions occurs, among other factors, due to stomatal closure. This finding has been demonstrated in several studies in the recent literature (Pazzagli;Weiner;Liu, 2016;Shangguan, 2016;Leite et al, 2018b). However, the use of SNP in pretreatment attenuated the negative effects of water deficit on CO 2 assimilation.…”

“…The cultivation of P. peruviana in Brazil is underexploited. In addition, research evaluating the performance of the species under water deficit conditions is scarce in the country, especially studies conducted with the non-cultivated native species Physalis angulata L. (Leite et al, 2018b;Leite et al, 2019). Thus, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of proline and sodium nitroprusside as promoters of increased tolerance to water deficit through chemical priming in P. peruviana plants.…”

Ecophysiological aspects of the germination of Physalis angulata L. seeds

“…Despite that, studies regarding ecophysiological aspects of P. angulata are still scarce (LEITE et al, 2018), especially regarding the germination of its seeds (SANTIAGO et al, 2019a;RAMOS et al, 2021). This need is observed both in national and international rules for seed analysis (BRASIL, 2009;ISTA, 2017), whose specific recommendations for the germination test are still non-existent.…”