Influence of Water Deficits on the Water Relations Characteristics and Productivity of Wild and Cultivated Sunflowers

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Abstract
The effects of water deficits on the water relations characteristics and yield of two cultivated Helianthus annuus L. lines, Hysun 31 and Seneca, and two wild Helianthus species, H. nuttallii and H. petiolaris, were compared. The study was conducted on frequently irrigated and unirrigated plants growing in the field during the summer. Predawn measurements of leaf water potential and relative water content showed that, in the uninigated plants, water deficits increased in all species during the first month after sowing (period I), were relieved by rain in the second month (period II), and then increased progressively in the final month (period III). The osmotic potential at full turgor of unirrigated plants, estimated by pressure-volume curves, decreased by 0.12-0.22 MPa during periods I and III in the cultivated sunflowers, but did not decrease significantly in the wild sunflowers. Except in the irrigated Hysun 31 and Seneca during period I, the apoplastic water content was about 20% in all species and treatments. During period I, the turgid weight: dry weight ratio decreased significantly with water stress, particularly in the cultivated sunflowers; the changes were less marked in the wild sunflowers and during period III. Additionally, the turgid weight: dry weight ratio in the imgated cultivated sunflowers decreased throughout the season. The volumetric modulus of elasticity was similar among species and did not change with water stress or plant age. Dry matter accumulation was smaller in the wild species than in the cultivated lines; water stress reduced shoot dry matter similarly in all species. However, water deficits significantly reduced the seed yield only in Hysun 31 and Seneca.