Organic residues (compost) can be used as growth medium but may contain phytotoxic ions that, combined with a water deficit alter the behavior of plants. The experiment was carried out in chamber Cistus albidus commercial substrate, C (sphagnum peat, coconut fiber and perlite, 8:7:1) mixture compost substrates, Cp (slurry compost, 3:6:1). Plants were grown pots under well-watered, maintaining v...

The Vegetable Production System (Veggie) is a scientific payload designed to support plant growth for food production under microgravity conditions. The configuration of Veggie consists of an LED lighting system with modular rooting “pillows” designed to contain substrate media and time-release fertilizer. The pillows were designed to be watered passively using capillary principles but have typ...

To gain insight into the limitations imposed by a typical Mediterranean-climate summer drought on the uptake of carbon and ozone in the ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) ecosystem, we compared diurnal trends in leaf physiology of young trees in a watered and a control plot located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, CA, USA (Blodgett Forest, 38 degrees 53' N, 120 degrees 37' W, 1315 ...

Water scarceness is a major threat to wheat productivity under changing climate scenarios, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. However, growing drought-tolerant genotypes could be sustainable option enhance drought stress conditions. The aim of this study was evaluate the effect mild severe on gas exchange parameters, relative water content, SPAD-chlorophyll value, yield-related parameter...

The growth of fall dormant/freezing tolerant plants often surpasses the growth of non-fall dormant/non-freezing tolerant types of the same species under water-limited conditions, while under irrigated conditions non-fall dormant types exhibit superior yield performance. To investigate the mechanism behind this phenomenon, we exposed seven diverse alfalfa (Medicago sativa) cultivars to water-lim...

The ability of juvenile Laurus nobilis and Acer negundo plants to refill embolized xylem vessels was tested under conditions of soil drought when xylem sap pressure was substantially negative, thus violating the expected condition that pressure must rise to near atmospheric for refilling. Intact potted plants were dried to a stem water potential ( Y W ) corresponding with approximately 80% loss...

Pearl millet, a key staple crop of the semi-arid tropics, is mostly grown in water-limited conditions, and improving its performance depends on how genotypes manage limited water resources. This study investigates whether the control of water loss under non-limiting water conditions is involved in the terminal drought tolerance of pearl millet. Two pairs of tolerant x sensitive pearl millet gen...

We examined the extent of osmotic adjustment and the changes in relative water content (RWC) and transpiration rate (i.e., relative stomatal function) that occur in water-deficit-conditioned 6-year-old Thuja occidentalis L. (eastern white cedar) trees in response to a severe drought. Trees conditioned by successive cycles of mild or moderate nonlethal water stress (conditioning) and nonconditio...

Drought is a great concern in agricultural production, because it restricts normal plant growth, brings about enormous economic loss and deteriorates ecological environment. Proper use of super absorbent polymers (SAP) is helpful in the agricultural and horticultural industry in arid and semi-arid areas, because SAP can ease the burden of water shortage. Because porosity is one of the most impo...