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Trichomes are common in plants from dry environments, and despite their recognized role in protection and defense, little is known about their role as absorptive structures and in other aspects of leaf ecophysiology. We combine anatomical and ecophysiological data to evaluate how trichomes affect leaf gas exchange and water balance during drought. We studied two congeneric species with pubescent leaves which co-occur in Brazilian Caatinga: Croton blanchetianus (dense trichomes) and Croton adenocalyx (sparse trichomes). We found a novel foliar water uptake (FWU) pathway in C. blanchetianus composed of stellate trichomes and underlying epidermal cells and sclereids that interconnect the trichomes from both leaf surfaces. The water absorbed by these trichomes is redistributed laterally by pectin protuberances on mesophyll cell walls. This mechanism enables C. blanchetianus leaves to absorb water more efficiently than C. adenocalyx. Consequently, the exposure of C. blanchetianus to dew during drought improved its leaf gas exchange and water status more than C. adenocalyx. C. blanchetianus trichomes also increase their leaf capacity to reflect light and maintain lower temperatures during drought. Our results emphasize the multiple roles that trichomes might have on plant functioning and the importance of FWU for the ecophysiology of Caatinga plants during drought.

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Manganese (Mn) is one of the essential mineral micronutrients most demanded by cacao. Cadmium (Cd) is highly toxic to plants and other living beings. There are indications that Mn can interact with Cd and mitigate its toxicity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the action of Mn on the toxic effect of Cd in young plants of the CCN 51 cacao genotype, subjected to different doses of Mn, Cd, and Mn+Cd in soil, through physiological, biochemical, molecular, and micromorphological and ultrastructural changes. High soil Mn doses favored the maintenance and performance of adequate photosynthetic processes in cacao. However, high doses of Cd and Mn+Cd in soil promoted damage to photosynthesis, alterations in oxidative metabolism, and the uptake, transport, and accumulation of Cd in roots and leaves. In addition, high Cd concentrations in roots and leaf tissues caused irreversible damage to the cell ultrastructure, compromising cell function and leading to programmed cell death. However, there was a mitigation of Cd toxicity when cacao was grown in soils with low Cd doses and in the presence of Mn. Thus, damage to the root and leaf tissues of cacao caused by Cd uptake from contaminated soils can be attenuated or mitigated by the presence of high Mn doses in soil.

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Despite multiple studies of the impact of climate change on temperate tree species, experiments on tropical and economically important tree crops, such as cacao (Theobroma cacao L.), are still limited. Here, we investigated the combined effects of increased temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration ([CO2]) on the growth, photosynthesis and development of juvenile plants of two contrasting cacao genotypes: SCA 6 and PA 107. The factorial growth chamber experiment combined two [CO2] treatments (410 and 700 p.p.m.) and three day/night temperature regimes (control: 31/22 °C, control + 2.5 °C: 33.5/24.5 °C and control + 5.0 °C: 36/27 °C) at a constant vapour pressure deficit (VPD) of 0.9 kPa. At elevated [CO2], the final dry weight and the total and individual leaf areas increased in both genotypes, while the duration for individual leaf expansion declined in PA 107. For both genotypes, elevated [CO2] also improved light-saturated net photosynthesis (Pn) and intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE), whereas leaf transpiration (E) and stomatal conductance (gs) decreased. Under a constant low VPD, increasing temperatures above 31/22 °C enhanced the rates of Pn, E and gs in both genotypes, suggesting that photosynthesis responds positively to higher temperatures than previously reported for cacao. However, dry weight and the total and individual leaf areas declined with increases in temperature, which was more evident in SCA 6 than PA 107, suggesting the latter genotype was more tolerant to elevated temperature. Our results suggest that the combined effect of elevated [CO2] and temperature is likely to improve the early growth of high temperature-tolerant genotypes, while elevated [CO2] appeared to ameliorate the negative effects of increased temperatures on growth parameters of more sensitive material. The evident genotypic variation observed in this study demonstrates the scope to select and breed cacao varieties capable of adapting to future climate change scenarios.

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The Lluta valley in northern Chile is a hyper-arid region with annual precipitation lower than 1.1 mm, and high levels of boron (B) from alluvial deposits are present together with other salts that originated from the Cretaceous. Under these abiotic conditions, the 'lluteño' maize (Zea mays L.) is of interest because it has adapted to the Lluta valley with high salinity levels and B excess in the soil and irrigation water. Water and salt stress coincide in heavily irrigated hyper-arid agricultural areas, yet they are usually studied in isolation. We investigated in field conditions the combined effects of drought (22 days with no irrigation) under salinity (ECe: 5.5 mS cm-1; Na+: 17.8 meq L-1) and B (21.1 meq L-1) stress on physiology, growth, yield, and hourly water relations. The results allow to hypothesize that the measurement of the pre-dawn water potential represents the balance between the water potential of the soil and the root. Besides, under drought a significant effect of irrigation and time interaction was observed presenting a high differential between the leaf and stem water potential in both phenological stages. Furthermore, a decrease in net assimilation was observed, and it could be explained in part by non-stomatal factors such as the high radiation and temperature observed at the end of the season. Despite the drought, the cobs did not present a significantly lower quality compared to the cobs of plants without stress.

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A strategy using bacilli was adopted aiming to investigate the mitigation of the effects of water deficit in sesame. An experiment was carried out in a greenhouse with 2 sesame cultivars (BRS Seda and BRS Anahí) and 4 inoculants (pant001, ESA 13, ESA 402, and ESA 441). On the 30th day of the cycle, irrigation was suspended for eight days, and the plants were subjected to physiological analysis using an infrared gas analyzer (IRGA). On the 8th day of water suspension, leaves were collected for analysis: superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, proline, nitrogen, chlorophyll, and carotenoids. At the end of the crop cycle, data on biomass and vegetative growth characteristics were collected. Data were submitted for variance analysis and comparison of means by the Tukey and Shapiro-Wilk tests. A positive effect of inoculants was observed for all characteristics evaluated, contributing to improvements in plant physiology, induction of biochemical responses, vegetative development, and productivity. ESA 13 established better interaction with the BRS Anahí cultivar and ESA 402 with BRS Seda, with an increase of 49% and 34%, respectively, for the mass of one thousand seeds. Thus, biological indicators are identified regarding the potential of inoculants for application in sesame cultivation.

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It is predicted that drought will be more frequent and sustained in the future, which may affect the decline of rubber tree production. Therefore, it is critical to research some of the variables related to the drought-resistance mechanism of the rubber tree. As a result, it can be used to guide the selection of new rubber drought-resistance clones. The goal of this study was to identify drought-resistance mechanisms in rubber clones from the high drought factor index (DFI) group using ecophysiological and biochemical variables. The treatments consist of two factors, namely water deficit and contrasting clones based on the DFI variable. The first factor consisted of three levels, namely normal (fraction of transpirable soil water (FTSW) > 0.75), severe water deficit (0.1 < FTSW < 0.20), and recovery condition (FTSW > 0.75 after rewatering). The second factor consisted of seven clones, namely clones G239, GT1 (low DFI), G127, SP 217, PB 260 (moderate DFI), as well as G206 and RRIM 600 (high DFI). RRIM 600 had the highest DFI among the other clones as a drought-tolerance mechanism characteristic. Furthermore, clones RRIM 600, GT1, and G127 had lower stomatal conductance and transpiration rate than drought-sensitive clone PB 260. As a result, as drought avoidance mechanisms, clones RRIM 600, GT1, and G127 consume less water than clone PB 260. These findings indicated that clone RRIM 600 was a drought-resistant clone with drought tolerance and avoidance mechanisms.

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The scarce availability of good quality water for irrigation in semi-arid regions leads to the reuse of waters, such as reject brine. Associated with this, the use of alternatives, such as hydroponic cultivation in substrates suitable for the development of profitable crops, such as watermelon, a species considered moderately sensitive to salinity, will allow new opportunities for communities assisted by desalination plants. An experiment was conducted in a plastic greenhouse to evaluate the growth, physiological responses, yield, and fruit quality of 'Sugar Baby' mini-watermelon cultivated in a hydroponic system with reject brine from desalination plants and different substrates. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with treatments arranged in a 5 × 4 factorial scheme, corresponding to five mixtures of reject brine (9.50 dS m-1) and tap water (0.54 dS m-1) applied to mini-watermelon plants, in an open hydroponic system, with four types of substrate and four replicates, with two plants per plot. Mini-watermelon plants grown in coconut fiber substrate showed the best growth and production. On the other hand, washed sand was the substrate that most hampered the development of plants in all mixtures. The use of reject brine to prepare the nutrient solution reduced the growth and production of mini-watermelon, mainly in mixtures with salinity above 4.00 dS m-1. The changes in gas exchange caused by salt stress in mini-watermelon were of stomatal nature. Mini-watermelon has high energy stability under conditions of salt stress.

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The objective of this study was to quantify the effect of potassium (K) supply on osmotic adjustment and drought avoidance mechanisms of Eucalyptus seedlings growing under short-term water stress. The effects of K supply on plant growth, nutritional status, leaf gas exchange parameters, leaf water potential (Ψw), leaf area (LA), stomatal density (SD), leaf carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) isotopic compositions (δ13C and δ15N ‰) and leaf C/N ratio under polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced water deficit were measured. Under both control (non-PEG) and osmotic stress (+PEG) conditions, K supply increased plant growth, boosting dry matter yield with decreased C/N leaf ratio and δ15N ‰ values. The +PEG significantly reduced LA, plant growth, dry matter yield, Ψw, number of stomata per plant and leaf gas exchange, relative to non-PEG condition. Potassium supply alleviated osmotic-induced alterations in Eucalyptus seedlings by better regulating leaf development as well as SD, thus improving the rate of leaf gas exchange parameters, mesophyll conductance to CO2 (lower δ13C ‰ values) and water use efficiency (WUE). Consequently, K-supplied plants under drought better acclimated to osmotic stress than K-deficient plants, which in turn induced lower CO2 assimilation and dry matter yield, as well as higher leaf δ13C ‰ and δ15N ‰ values. In conclusion, management practices should seek to optimize K-nutrition to improve WUE, photosynthesis-related parameters and plant growth under water deficit conditions.

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The objective of this study was to evaluate photosynthetic performance based on gas exchange traits, chlorophyll a fluorescence, and leaf water potential (ΨL) in nine Hevea brasiliensis genotypes from the ECC-1 (Élite Caquetá Colombia) selection and the cultivar IAN 873 (control) in response to different climatic (semi-humid warm and humid warm climates), seasonal (dry and rainy periods), and hourly (3:00 to 18:00) variations that can generate stress in the early growth stage (two-year-old plants) in two large-scale clonal trials in the Colombian Amazon. The photosynthetic performance in 60% of the Colombian genotypes was slightly affected under the conditions with less water availability (dry period, semi-humid warm site, and between 9:00 and 15:00 h), as compared with IAN 873, whose affectation was moderate in terms of photosynthesis rates, but its water conservation strategy was strongly affected. The ECC 90, ECC 83, and ECC 73 genotypes had the best photosynthetic performance under conditions of greater water limitation, and ECC 35, and ECC 64 had a higher water status based on the leaf water potential, with intermediate photosynthetic performance. This germplasm has a high potential for selection in rubber tree breeding programs in future scenarios of climate change in the Colombian Amazon.

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BACKGROUND: Water stress is one of the serious abiotic stresses that negatively influences the growth, development and production of sugarcane in arid and semi-arid regions. However, silicon (Si) has been applied as an alleviation strategy subjected to environmental stresses. METHODS: In this experiment, Si was applied as soil irrigation in sugarcane plants to understand the mitigation effect of Si against harmful impact of water stress on photosynthetic leaf gas exchange. RESULTS: In the present study we primarily revealed the consequences of low soil moisture content, which affect overall plant performance of sugarcane significantly. Silicon application reduced the adverse effects of water stress by improving the net photosynthetic assimilation rate (Anet) 1.35-18.75%, stomatal conductance to water vapour (gs) 3.26-21.57% and rate of transpiration (E) 1.16-17.83%. The mathematical models developed from the proposed hypothesis explained the functional relationships between photosynthetic responses of Si application and water stress mitigation. CONCLUSIONS: Silicon application showed high ameliorative effects on photosynthetic responses of sugarcane to water stress and could be used for mitigating environmental stresses in other crops, too, in future.

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Both the temperate-humid zone and the southern part of the Mediterranean climate region of Chile are characterized by high wheat productivity. Study objectives were to analyze the yield potential, yield progress, and genetic progress of the winter bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars and changes in agronomic and morphophysiological traits during the past 60 years. Thus, two field experiments: (a) yield potential and (b) yield genetic progress trials were conducted in high-yielding environments of central-southern Chile during the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasons. In addition, yield progress was analyzed using yield historical data of a high-yielding environment from 1957 to 2017. Potential yield trials showed that, at the most favorable sites, grain yield reached ∼20.46 Mg ha-1. The prolonged growing and grain filling period, mild temperatures in December-January, ample water availability, and favorable soil conditions explain this high-potential yield. Yield progress analysis indicated that average grain yield increased from 2.70 Mg ha-1 in 1959 to 12.90 Mg ha-1 in 2017, with a 128.8 kg ha-1 per-year increase due to favorable soil and climatic conditions. For genetic progress trials, genetic gain in grain yield from 1965 to 2019 was 70.20 kg ha-1 (0.49%) per year, representing around 55% of the yield progress. Results revealed that the genetic gains in grain yield were related to increases in biomass partitioning toward reproductive organs, without significant increases in Shoot DW production. In addition, reducing trends in the NDVI, the fraction of intercepted PAR, the intercepted PAR (form emergence to heading), and the RGB-derived vegetation indices with the year of cultivar release were detected. These decreases could be due to the erectophile leaf habit, which enhanced photosynthetic activity, and thus grain yield increased. Also, senescence of bottom canopy leaves (starting from booting) could be involved by decreasing the ability of spectral and RGB-derived vegetation indices to capture the characteristics of green biomass after the booting stage. Contrary, a positive correlation was detected for intercepted PAR from heading to maturity, which could be due to a stay-green mechanism, supported by the trend of positive correlations of Chlorophyll content with the year of cultivar release.

RESUMO

BACKGROUND: Water stress is one of the serious abiotic stresses that negatively influences the growth, development and production of sugarcane in arid and semi-arid regions. However, silicon (Si) has been applied as an alleviation strategy subjected to environmental stresses. METHODS: In this experiment, Si was applied as soil irrigation in sugarcane plants to understand the mitigation effect of Si against harmful impact of water stress on photosynthetic leaf gas exchange. RESULTS: In the present study we primarily revealed the consequences of low soil moisture content, which affect overall plant performance of sugarcane significantly. Silicon application reduced the adverse effects of water stress by improving the net photosynthetic assimilation rate (Anet) 1.35-18.75%, stomatal conductance to water vapour (gs) 3.26-21.57% and rate of transpiration (E) 1.16-17.83%. The mathematical models developed from the proposed hypothesis explained the functional relationships between photosynthetic responses of Si application and water stress mitigation. CONCLUSIONS: Silicon application showed high ameliorative effects on photosynthetic responses of sugarcane to water stress and could be used for mitigating environmental stresses in other crops, too, in future.

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Tropical forests absorb large amounts of atmospheric CO2 through photosynthesis, but high surface temperatures suppress this absorption while promoting isoprene emissions. While mechanistic isoprene emission models predict a tight coupling to photosynthetic electron transport (ETR) as a function of temperature, direct field observations of this phenomenon are lacking in the tropics and are necessary to assess the impact of a warming climate on global isoprene emissions. Here we demonstrate that in the early successional species Vismia guianensis in the central Amazon, ETR rates increased with temperature in concert with isoprene emissions, even as stomatal conductance (gs ) and net photosynthetic carbon fixation (Pn ) declined. We observed the highest temperatures of continually increasing isoprene emissions yet reported (50°C). While Pn showed an optimum value of 32.6 ± 0.4°C, isoprene emissions, ETR, and the oxidation state of PSII reaction centers (qL ) increased with leaf temperature with strong linear correlations for ETR (Æ¿ = 0.98) and qL (Æ¿ = 0.99) with leaf isoprene emissions. In contrast, other photoprotective mechanisms, such as non-photochemical quenching, were not activated at elevated temperatures. Inhibition of isoprenoid biosynthesis repressed Pn at high temperatures through a mechanism that was independent of stomatal closure. While extreme warming will decrease gs and Pn in tropical species, our observations support a thermal tolerance mechanism where the maintenance of high photosynthetic capacity under extreme warming is assisted by the simultaneous stimulation of ETR and metabolic pathways that consume the direct products of ETR including photorespiration and the biosynthesis of thermoprotective isoprenoids. Our results confirm that models which link isoprene emissions to the rate of ETR hold true in tropical species and provide necessary "ground-truthing" for simulations of the large predicted increases in tropical isoprene emissions with climate warming.

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Exogenous glycine betaine (GB) or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) application has not been explored to mitigate waterlogging stress in Andean fruit trees. The objective of this study was to evaluate foliar GB or H2O2 application on the physiological behavior of Cape gooseberry plants under waterlogging. Two separate experiments were carried out. In the first trial, the treatment groups were: (1) plants without waterlogging and with no foliar applications, (2) plants with waterlogging and without foliar applications, and (3) waterlogged plants with 25, 50, or 100 mM of H2O2 or GB, respectively. The treatments in the second trial were: (1) plants without waterlogging and with no foliar applications, (2) plants with waterlogging and without foliar applications, and (3) waterlogged plants with 100 mM of H2O2 or GB, respectively. In the first experiment, plants with waterlogging and with exogenous GB or H2O2 applications at a dose of 100 mM showed higher leaf water potential (-0.5 Mpa), dry weight (1.0 g), and stomatal conductance (95 mmol·m-2·s-1) values. In the second experiment, exogenously supplied GB or H2O2 also increased the relative growth rate, and leaf photosynthesis mitigating waterlogging stress. These results show that short-term GB or H2O2 supply can be a tool in managing waterlogging in Cape gooseberry.

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In Mediterranean climates soil water deficit occurs mainly during the spring and summer, having a great impact on cereal productivity. While previous studies have indicated that the grain yield (GY) of triticale is usually higher than bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), comparatively little is known about the performance of these crops under water-limited conditions or the physiological traits involved in the different yields of both crops. For this purpose, two sets of experiments were conducted in order to compare a high yielding triticale (cv. Aguacero) and spring wheat (cvs. Pandora and Domo). The first experiment, aiming to analyze the agronomic performance, was carried out in 10 sites located across a wide range of Mediterranean and temperate environments, distributed between 33°34' and 38°41' S. The second experiment, aiming to identify potential physiological traits linked to the different yields of the two crops, was conducted in two Mediterranean sites (Cauquenes and Santa Rosa) in which crops were grown under well-watered (WW) and water-limited (WL) conditions. The relationship between GY and the environmental index revealed that triticale exhibited a higher regression coefficient (Finlay and Wilkinson slope), indicating a more stable response to the environment, accompanied by higher yields than bread wheat. Harvest index was not significantly different between the two cereals, but triticale had higher kernels per spike (35%) and 1000 kernel weight (16%) than wheat, despite a lower number of spikes per square meter. The higher yield of triticale was linked to higher values of chlorophyll content, leaf net photosynthesis (An), the maximum rate of electron transport (ETRmax), the photochemical quantum yield of PSII [Y(II)] and leaf water-use efficiency. GY was positively correlated with Ci at anthesis and Δ13C in both species, as well as with gs at anthesis in triticale, but negatively correlated with non-photochemical fluorescence quenching and quantum yield of non-photochemical energy conversion at grain filling in wheat. These results revealed that triticale presented higher photosynthetic rates that contributed to increase plant growth and yield in the different environments, whereas wheat showed higher photoprotection system in detriment of assimilate production.

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The success of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum infection relies mainly on the production of the non-host selective toxin named oxalic acid (OA). This toxin is known to play multiple roles in a host infected by the fungus, but its effect on photosynthesis and the antioxidant system of common bean plants remain elusive. Therefore, we performed detailed analysis of leaf gas exchange, chlorophyll a fluorescence, activities of antioxidant enzymes, concentrations of reactive oxygen species and photosynthetic pigments to investigate the OA's role during the S. sclerotiorum pathogenesis. To achieve this goal, common bean plants were sprayed with water or with oxalic acid (referred to as -OA and +OA plants, respectively) and either non-challenged or challenged with a wild-type (WT) or an OA-defective mutant (A4) of S. sclerotiorum. Irrespective of OA spray, the WT isolate was more aggressive than the A4 isolate and spraying OA increased OA concentration in the leaflets as well as the aggressiveness of both isolates. Biochemical limitations were behind S. sclerotiorum-induced photosynthetic impairments notably for the +OA plants inoculated with the WT isolate. Inoculated plants were not able to fully capture and exploit the collected energy due to the degradation of photosynthetic pigments. Photoinhibition of photosynthesis and photochemical dysfunctions were potentiated by OA. Higher activities of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase besides reductions on catalase activity were noticed for plants inoculated with the WT isolate. OA was able to counteract most of the increases in the activities of antioxidant enzymes thereby increasing the generation of superoxide and hydrogen peroxide and the concurrent damage to the membranes of host cells as evidenced by the high malondialdehyde concentration. In conclusion, OA was found to enhance biochemical limitations to photosynthesis, photochemical dysfunctions and oxidative stress in the leaflets of common bean plants infected by S. sclerotiorum.

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The application of fungicides in different operating conditions is a usual practice for maintaining the productive potential in sugarcane varieties considered susceptible to orange rust, however, the physiological effects provided by the different application methods are unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the photosynthetic responses (gas exchange and chlorophyll content) in the SP81-3250 sugarcane variety, in function of different operational conditions of the aerial and ground application of fungicide in the orange rust control. Two application of fungicides of the chemical groups Strobilurins and Triazoles were carried out in the experimental units in different treatments. In the aerial applications, two application rates (30 and 40 L ha-1) and three nozzle orientations (0º, 90º and 135º) and in the ground application was used 200 L ha-1 and flat fan spray nozzles with air induction (AI11004-VS). Gas exchange evaluations were performed with an IRGA and amount of chlorophyll a and b with a chlorophyll meter. Data were analyzed using Student's t-test for independent samples, at 0.05 significance. The aerial application provided better photosynthetic responses and chlorophyll a and b contents in leaf limb compared to ground application. Significant differences were detected in gas exchange and chlorophyll content between application rates and angulation of the spray nozzles in the boom. Fungicide applications provided increments of more than 19 t ha-1 compared to the control, depending on the spraying technique employed. Aerial application with 30 L ha-1 and 0° of deflection is a viable option to provide safer applications as a function of the larger droplet size.

A aplicação de fungicidas em diferentes condições operacionais é uma prática usual para manter o potencial genético em variedades de cana-de-açúcar consideradas susceptíveis à ferrugem laranja, porém os efeitos fisiológicos proporcionados pelos diferentes métodos de aplicação são desconhecidos. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar as respostas fotossintéticas (troca gasosa e teor de clorofila) na variedade de cana-de-açúcar SP81-3250, em função de diferentes condições operacionais de aplicação aérea e terrestre de fungicida no controle da ferrugem alaranjada. Duas aplicações de fungicidas dos grupos químicos Estrobilurinas e Triazóis foram realizadas nas unidades experimentais em diferentes tratamentos. Nas aplicações aéreas, foram utilizadas duas taxas de aplicação (30 e 40 L ha-1) e três orientações do ângulo dos bicos (0º, 90º e 135º) e na aplicação terrestre 200 L ha-1 e pontas de pulverização de jato plano com indução de ar (AI11004 -VS). As avaliações de trocas gasosas foram realizadas com analisador de gás IRGA e a quantidade de clorofila a e b com um medidor de clorofila. Os dados foram analisados utilizando o teste t de Student para amostras independentes, com um valor de 0,05 de significancia. A aplicação aérea proporcionou melhores respostas fotossintéticas e os teores de clorofila a e b no membro foliar em comparação com a aplicação terrestre. Foram detectadas diferenças significativas na troca gasosa e no teor de clorofila entre as taxas de aplicação e a angulação dos bicos de pulverização na barra. As aplicações de fungicidas proporcionaram incrementos de mais de 19 t ha-1 em relação ao tratamento controle, dependendo da técnica de pulverização empregada. A aplicação aérea com 30 L ha-1 e 0° de deflexão é uma opção viável para proporcionar aplicações mais seguras em função do maior tamanho das gotas.

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In Citrus, water, nutrient transport and thereby fruit production, are influenced among other factors, by the interaction between rootstock and boron (B) nutrition. This study aimed to investigate how B affects the anatomical structure of roots and leaves as well as leaf gas exchange in sweet orange trees grafted on two contrasting rootstocks in response to B supply. Plants grafted on Swingle citrumelo or Sunki mandarin were grown in a nutrient solution of varying B concentration (deficient, adequate, and excessive). Those grafted on Swingle were more tolerant to both B deficiency and toxicity than those on Sunki, as revealed by higher shoot and root growth. In addition, plants grafted on Sunki exhibited more severe anatomical and physiological damages under B deficiency, showing thickening of xylem cell walls and impairments in whole-plant leaf-specific hydraulic conductance and leaf CO2 assimilation. Our data revealed that trees grafted on Swingle sustain better growth under low B availablitlity in the root medium and still respond positively to increased B levels by combining higher B absorption and root growth as well as better organization of xylem vessels. Taken together, those traits improved water and B transport to the plant canopy. Under B toxicity, Swingle rootstock would also favor plant growth by reducing anatomical and ultrastructural damage to leaf tissue and improving water transport compared with plants grafted on Sunki. From a practical point of view, our results highlight that B management in citrus orchards shall take into account rootstock varieties, of which the Swingle rootstock was characterized by its performance on regulating anatomical and ultrastructural damages, improving water transport and limiting negative impacts of B stress conditions on plant growth.

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The present study investigated changes in photosynthetic characteristics of Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. (early successional species) and Hymenaea courbaril L. (late successional species) grown in contrasting light conditions as a way of assessing photosynthetic plasticity. Early successional species typically inhabit gap environments being exposed to variability in multiple resources, hence it is expected that these species would show higher photosynthetic plasticity than late successional ones. In order to test this hypothesis, light and CO2 response curves and chlorophyll content (Chl) were measured in plants grown in high and low light environments. G. ulmifolia presented the highest amounts of both Chl a and b, especially in the low light, and both species presented higher Chl a than b in both light conditions. The Chl a/b ratio was higher in high light leaves of both species and greater in G. ulmifolia. Taken together, these results evidence the acclimation potential of both species, reflecting the capacity to modulate light harvesting complexes according to the light environment. However, G. ulmifolia showed evidence of higher photosynthetic plasticity, as indicated by the greater amplitude of variation on photosynthetic characteristics between environments shown by more significant shade adjusted parameters (SAC) and principal component analysis (PCA). Thus, the results obtained were coherent with the hypothesis that the early successional species G. ulmifolia exhibits higher photosynthetic plasticity than the late successional species H. courbaril.

O presente estudo investigou mudanças nas características fotossintéticas de Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. (pioneira) e Hymenaea courbaril L. (secundária) crescidas sob condições luminosas contrastantes, como uma maneira de acessar a plasticidade fotossintética das espécies. Espécies pioneiras geralmente habitam ambientes de clareira, expostas a uma ampla variação em múltiplos recursos, o que indica que essas espécies podem apresentar maior plasticidade fotossintética do que espécies secundárias. A fim de testar essa hipótese, foram feitas curvas de resposta à luz e ao CO2 e medidas do conteúdo de clorofila (Chl) em plantas crescidas em ambientes com alta e baixa luminosidade. G. ulmifolia apresentou os maiores teores de Chl a e b, principalmente em baixa luminosidade, e ambas as espécies apresentaram maior conteúdo de clorofila a do que b em ambas as condições luminosas. A razão Chl a/b foi maior em folhas de sol em ambas as espécies e foi mais elevada em G. ulmifolia. Conjuntamente, esses resultados evidenciam um potencial de aclimatação em ambas as espécies, indicando a capacidade de modular os complexos antena de acordo com o ambiente luminoso. Contudo, G. ulmifolia mostrou evidências de maior plasticidade fotossintética, conforme indicado pela maior amplitude de variação nas características fotossintéticas entre ambientes, maior número de parâmetros significativamente justados à sombra (SAC) e pela análise de componentes principais (PCA). Assim, os resultados obtidos foram coerentes com a hipótese de que a espécie pioneira G. ulmifolia apresenta maior plasticidade fotossintética do que a secundária H. courbaril.

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RESUMO

The present study investigated changes in photosynthetic characteristics of Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. (early successional species) and Hymenaea courbaril L. (late successional species) grown in contrasting light conditions as a way of assessing photosynthetic plasticity. Early successional species typically inhabit gap environments being exposed to variability in multiple resources, hence it is expected that these species would show higher photosynthetic plasticity than late successional ones. In order to test this hypothesis, light and CO2 response curves and chlorophyll content (Chl) were measured in plants grown in high and low light environments. G. ulmifolia presented the highest amounts of both Chl a and b, especially in the low light, and both species presented higher Chl a than b in both light conditions. The Chl a/b ratio was higher in high light leaves of both species and greater in G. ulmifolia. Taken together, these results evidence the acclimation potential of both species, reflecting the capacity to modulate light harvesting complexes according to the light environment. However, G. ulmifolia showed evidence of higher photosynthetic plasticity, as indicated by the greater amplitude of variation on photosynthetic characteristics between environments shown by more significant shade adjusted parameters (SAC) and principal component analysis (PCA). Thus, the results obtained were coherent with the hypothesis that the early successional species G. ulmifolia exhibits higher photosynthetic plasticity than the late successional species H. courbaril.

O presente estudo investigou mudanças nas características fotossintéticas de Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. (pioneira) e Hymenaea courbaril L. (secundária) crescidas sob condições luminosas contrastantes, como uma maneira de acessar a plasticidade fotossintética das espécies. Espécies pioneiras geralmente habitam ambientes de clareira, expostas a uma ampla variação em múltiplos recursos, o que indica que essas espécies podem apresentar maior plasticidade fotossintética do que espécies secundárias. A fim de testar essa hipótese, foram feitas curvas de resposta à luz e ao CO2 e medidas do conteúdo de clorofila (Chl) em plantas crescidas em ambientes com alta e baixa luminosidade. G. ulmifolia apresentou os maiores teores de Chl a e b, principalmente em baixa luminosidade, e ambas as espécies apresentaram maior conteúdo de clorofila a do que b em ambas as condições luminosas. A razão Chl a/b foi maior em folhas de sol em ambas as espécies e foi mais elevada em G. ulmifolia. Conjuntamente, esses resultados evidenciam um potencial de aclimatação em ambas as espécies, indicando a capacidade de modular os complexos antena de acordo com o ambiente luminoso. Contudo, G. ulmifolia mostrou evidências de maior plasticidade fotossintética, conforme indicado pela maior amplitude de variação nas características fotossintéticas entre ambientes, maior número de parâmetros significativamente justados à sombra (SAC) e pela análise de componentes principais (PCA). Assim, os resultados obtidos foram coerentes com a hipótese de que a espécie pioneira G. ulmifolia apresenta maior plasticidade fotossintética do que a secundária H. courbaril.