Effects of irrigation strategies and soils on field-grown potatoes: Gas exchange and xylem [ABA]

Gas exchange was measured in potatoes (cv. Folva) grown in lysimeters (4.32 m(2)) in coarse sand, loamy sand, and sandy loam and subjected to full (FI). deficit (DI), and partial root-zone drying (PRD) irrigation strategies. PRD and DI as water-saving irrigation treatments received 65% of FI and started after tuber bulking and lasted for six weeks until final harvest. Midday photosynthesis rate (A(n)) and stomatal conductance (g(s)) of fully irrigated (FI) plants were lowest in coarse sand and mean A(n) of diurnal measurements in FI, PRD and DI tended to be lower in this soil as compared with the loamy sand and sandy loam. The results revealed that diurnal values of A(n) and g(s) in PRO and DI were consistently lower than FI without reaching significant differences in accordance with findings that xylem [ABA] in PRD was significantly higher than FI, and tended to be higher than in DI. Diurnal measurements showed that A(n) reached peak values during mid-morning and midday, while g, were highest during the morning. Intrinsic water use efficiency (A(n)/g(s)) correlated linearly well with the leaf to air vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and the slope of the line revealed the rate of A(n)/g(s) increase per each kPa increase in VPD, i.e. approximately 10 mu mol mol(-1). Transpiration efficiency (A(n)/T) of PRD was higher than DI, which shows slightly better efficient water use than DI. The slope of the linear relationship between transpiration efficiency and VPD decreased from -2.03 to -1.04 during the time course of the growing season, indicating the negative effect of leaf ageing on photosynthesis and thus on plant water use efficiency. This fact shows the possibility to save water during last growth stages through applying water-saving irrigations without much effect on transpiration efficiency. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.