OAR@ICRISATResponse of four sorghum lines to mid-season drought. II. Leaf characteristicsR BMatthewsauthorS NAzam-AliauthorJ MPeacockauthorFour sorghum lines were visually selected on the basis of degree of leaf disiccation for resistance and susceptibility to mid-season drought stress. An association between leaf-rolling and degree of resistance based on this method of selection had previously been observed, prompting this study to identify the physiological contribution of characteristics at the leaf level to mid-season drought resistance. During the drought period, the resistant lines showed more leaf-rolling than the susceptible lines, reducing the effective area of the uppermost leaves by about 75%. Leaf-rolling in the resistant lines occurred over a very narrow range of leaf water-potentials (−2.0 to −2.2 MPa) compared to the susceptible lines. The strong correlation between the light-extinction coefficient k and leaf-rolling indicated that changes in k over the season were in part due to differing abilities of the lines to roll their leaves. However, expected differences in leaf temperature between lines due to radiation shedding were not found. Lines exhibiting leaf-rolling had higher leaf conductances, although transpiration rates per unit leaf area were similar. It is suggested that leaf-rolling may alter the leaf surface microclimate so that stomata may remain open and growth continue without associated high rates of water loss.Sorghum1990-12Elsevier B.V.Article

For work being deposited by its own author: In self-archiving this collection of files and associated bibliographic metadata, I grant OAR@ICRISAT the right to store them and to make them permanently available publicly for free on-line. I declare that this material is my own intellectual property and I understand that OAR@ICRISAT does not assume any responsibility if there is any breach of copyright in distributing these files or metadata. (All authors are urged to prominently assert their copyright on the title page of their work.)

For work being deposited by someone other than its author: I hereby declare that the collection of files and associated bibliographic metadata that I am archiving at OAR@ICRISAT) is in the public domain. If this is not the case, I accept full responsibility for any breach of copyright that distributing these files or metadata may entail.

Clicking on the deposit button indicates your agreement to these terms.