Carbon dioxide enrichment and water stress interaction on growth of two tomato cultivars

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Summary: If atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration continues to increase, plant growth and crop yield could be affected. New Yorker and Better Boy cultivars of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) were used to investigate possible intraspecific variation in the response of crop species to increased CO2. Because precipitation and temperature are predicted to change with the increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration, the response of the two cultivars to the interaction between CO2 and water stress was also examined. Seeds of the two cultivars were germinated and grown under controlled environmental conditions, in either 350 or 675 μ1 CO2/1.The plant water status of the two cultivars was inherently different but was little affected by the CO2 concentration when the plants were well watered. When water was withheld for 5 days the total leaf water potential and osmotic potential decreased in both CO2 treatments but less rapidly in high CO2 than in low. Under low CO2 total leaf water potential decreased to a lower value than osmotic potential. The differences were due, at least in part, to the reduced stomatal conductance and transpiration rate under high CO2.Increased CO2 ameliorated the detrimental effects of drought stress on plant growth. The results indicate that increased CO2 could differentially affect the relative drought resistance of species cultivars.