Magnetic resonance microimaging indicates water diffusion correlates with dormancy induction in cultured hybrid poplar (Populus spp.) buds.

Water content and mobility, which are factors known to be associated with dormancy induction in woody plants on a tissue level, were measured using non-destructive magnetic resonance microimaging (MRMI). Two cultured poplar clones ('Okanese' - temperature-insensitive dormancy and 'Walker' - temperature-sensitive dormancy) were subjected to dormancy differentiating temperature regimes, 18.5/3.5 degrees C and 18.5/13.5 degrees C (day/night), under a short photoperiod. Apparent diffusion coefficient, an indicator of water mobility, correlated with dormancy development in the axillary bud and vascular bud trace regions. In contrast, T(1) relaxation time, an indicator of static biophysical water properties, did not correlate significantly with dormancy in the regions that were examined. Although MRMI studies using T(1) relaxation measurements have dominated the phytological field, our work indicates that water mobility is an important factor in studies examining water changes during dormancy induction in the critical tissues of woody plants.