Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In botany, drought tolerance is the ability by which a plant maintains its biomass production during arid or drought conditions. [1] [2] [3] Some plants are naturally adapted to dry conditions, surviving with protection mechanisms such as desiccation tolerance, detoxification, or repair of xylem embolism. [3]
Crop yield is also negatively effected by drought stress, the reduction in crop yield results from a decrease in photosynthetic rate, changes in leaf development, and altered allocation of resources all due to drought stress. [72] Crop plants exposed to drought stress suffer from reductions in leaf water potential and transpiration rate.
Such methods include: researching on drought resistant crops, monitoring plant transpiration and reducing soil evaporation. [117] Drought resistant crops have been researched extensively as a means to overcome the issue of water shortage. They are modified genetically so they can adapt in an environment with little water. This is beneficial as ...
The drought-resistant seeds from Syngenta and DuPont are important because they are made using native corn traits, while Monsanto's seeds splice in traits from other plants.
Resistance to drought is a quantitative trait, with a complex phenotype, often confounded by plant phenology. Breeding for drought resistance is further complicated since several types of abiotic stress, such as high temperatures, high irradiance, and nutrient toxicities or deficiencies can challenge crop plants simultaneously.
Drought deciduous plants may drop their leaves in times of dryness. The wilting of leaves is a reversible process, however, abscission is irreversible. Shedding leaves is not favourable to plants because when water is available again, they would have to spend resources to produces new leaves which are needed for photosynthesis. [ 11 ]
Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is known to be more environmentally-tolerant than other cereal crops, in terms of soil pH, mineral nutrient availability, and water availability. [1] Because of this, much research is being done on barley plants in order to determine whether or not there is a genetic basis for this environmental hardiness. [2]
Drought lowers the growth rate and development, ultimately reducing yield, although cowpea is considered more drought tolerant than most other crops. [61] Drought at the preflowering stage in cowpea can reduce the yield potential by 360 kg/ha. [62] Crop wild relatives are the prominent source of genetic material, which can be tapped to improve ...