Sadia Hakeem1, Zulfiqar Ali2, Muhammad Abu Bakar Saddique1, Muhammad Habib-Ur-Rahman3,4, Richard Trethowan5. 1. Institute of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, MNS University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan. 2. Institute of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, MNS University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan. zulfiqar.ali@mnsuam.edu.pk. 3. Department of Agronomy, MNS University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan. 4. Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES), Crop Science Group, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. 5. Plant Breeding Institute, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Abstract
MAIN CONCLUSION: The leaf features like trichome density, gradient grooves, and leaf wettability determine the efficiency to capture air moisture for self-irrigation in the wheat plant. Plants in water-scarce environments evolved to capture air moisture for their water needs either directly or indirectly. Structural features like cones, hairs, and grooves assist water capture. The morphology of crops such as wheat can promote self-irrigation under drought. To examine this further, 34 wheat genotypes were characterized for leaf traits in near optimal conditions in the field using a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. An association was found between morphological and physiological traits and yield using simple correlation plots. A core set of nine genotypes was subsequently evaluated for moisture harvesting ability and leaf wettability. Results showed that variation among genotypes exists for fog harvesting ability attributed to structural leaf features. Physiological traits, especially photosynthesis and water use efficiency, were positively associated with yield, negatively correlated with soil moisture at booting, and positively correlated with soil moisture at anthesis. The genotypes with deep to medium leaf grooves and dense hairs on the edges and adaxial surfaces (genotypes 7 and 18) captured the most moisture. This was a function of higher water drop rolling efficiency resulting from lower contact angle hysteresis. These results can be exploited to develop more heat and drought-tolerant crops.
MAIN CONCLUSION: The leaf features like trichome density, gradient grooves, and leaf wettability determine the efficiency to capture air moisture for self-irrigation in the wheat plant. Plants in water-scarce environments evolved to capture air moisture for their water needs either directly or indirectly. Structural features like cones, hairs, and grooves assist water capture. The morphology of crops such as wheat can promote self-irrigation under drought. To examine this further, 34 wheat genotypes were characterized for leaf traits in near optimal conditions in the field using a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. An association was found between morphological and physiological traits and yield using simple correlation plots. A core set of nine genotypes was subsequently evaluated for moisture harvesting ability and leaf wettability. Results showed that variation among genotypes exists for fog harvesting ability attributed to structural leaf features. Physiological traits, especially photosynthesis and water use efficiency, were positively associated with yield, negatively correlated with soil moisture at booting, and positively correlated with soil moisture at anthesis. The genotypes with deep to medium leaf grooves and dense hairs on the edges and adaxial surfaces (genotypes 7 and 18) captured the most moisture. This was a function of higher water drop rolling efficiency resulting from lower contact angle hysteresis. These results can be exploited to develop more heat and drought-tolerant crops.
Authors: Sabah Merrium; Zulfiqar Ali; Muhammad Hammad Nadeem Tahir; Muhammad Habib-Ur-Rahman; Sadia Hakeem Journal: Environ Sci Pollut Res Int Date: 2022-02-25 Impact factor: 5.190
Authors: Zulfiqar Ali; Sabah Merrium; Muhammad Habib-Ur-Rahman; Sadia Hakeem; Muhammad Abu Bakar Saddique; Muhammad Ali Sher Journal: Environ Sci Pollut Res Int Date: 2022-02-01 Impact factor: 5.190