Water Stress and Leaf Growth of Field Beans (Vicia faba L.) in the Field: Water Potentials and Laminar Expansion

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Abstract
Field beans were grown in three different irrigation treatments. The growth of each leaf was followed and estimates made of plant water potential at dawn and of plant water potential, solute potential, and pressure potential in the afternoon. The growth in area of the leaves against time was fitted with a logistic curve from which the parameters of leaf growth were defined. The parameters were the area at which a leaf unfolds, the mean growth rate, and the duration of growth, which combine to give the final leaf size. Water stress reduced the final leaf size by reducing both the area at unfolding and the mean growth rate. The duration of growth was not consistently altered. Final leaf size was closely correlated with the plant water potential in the afternoon and apparently more with pressure than solute potential.

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