Plant Soil Environ., 2018, 64(10):484-490 | DOI: 10.17221/463/2018-PSE

Association of carbon isotope discrimination with leaf gas exchange and water use efficiency in maize following soil amendment with superabsorbent hydrogelOriginal Paper

Wei YANG1, Pin-Fang LI*,1,2
1 College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China
2 Key Laboratory of Plant and Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, Beijing, P.R. China

The correlation of carbon isotope discrimination (△13C) with photosynthetic gas exchange and water use efficiency (WUE) in maize was investigated under low rainfall conditions with or without superabsorbent polymer (SAP). SAP (45 kg/ha) was mixed into the top 10 cm soil layer at sowing in lysimeters. Compared with the control plants not treated with SAP, the application of SAP increased net photosynthesis rate; stomatal conductance (gs); transpiration rate; chlorophyll content (Chl) and intrinsic water use efficiency at leaf level (WUEi), but decreased intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) and leaf △13C. In plants supplied with SAP, leaf △13C was positively correlated with Ci (r = 0.864, P < 0.01) and negatively correlated with gs and WUEi (r = -0.860 and -0.626, P < 0.01, respectively). Leaf △13C was not correlated with Chl with or without SAP. Grain △13C significantly decreased by 12.4% and showed a significant negative correlation with grain WUE under SAP treatments (r = -0.670, P < 0.05). These results suggest that in the presence of SAP, maize leaf and grain △13C could be good indicators for evaluating maize WUE during periods of low rainfall.

Keywords: water-saving polymer; Zea mays L.; physiological traits; soil moisture; carbon isotope composition

Published: October 31, 2018  Show citation

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YANG W, Pin-Fang L. Association of carbon isotope discrimination with leaf gas exchange and water use efficiency in maize following soil amendment with superabsorbent hydrogel. Plant Soil Environ. 2018;64(10):484-490. doi: 10.17221/463/2018-PSE.
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