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Plant function and evolutionary biology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Vapour pressure deficit aids the interpretation of cotton canopy temperature response to water deficit

Warren C. Conaty A D , James R. Mahan B , James E. Neilsen A C and Greg A. Constable A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A CSIRO Plant Industry, Locked Bag 59, Narrabri, NSW 2390, Australia.

B USDA/ARS Plant Stress and Water Conservation Laboratory, 3810 4th St, Lubbock, TX, USA.

C Monsanto Singapore Co (Pte) Ltd, 151 Lorong Chuan #06-08 New Tech Park, Singapore.

D Corresponding author. Email: warren.conaty@csiro.au

Functional Plant Biology 41(5) 535-546 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP13223
Submitted: 29 July 2013  Accepted: 10 December 2013   Published: 13 January 2014

Abstract

Crop canopy temperature (Tc) is coupled with transpiration, which is a function of soil and atmospheric conditions and plant water status. Thus, Tc has been identified as a real-time, plant-based tool for crop water stress detection. Such plant-based methods theoretically integrate the water status of both the plant and its environment. However, previous studies have highlighted the limitations and difficulty of interpreting the Tc response to plant and soil water stress. This study investigates the links between cotton Tc, established measures of plant water relations and atmospheric vapour pressure deficit (VPDa). Concurrent measures of carbon assimilation (A), stomatal conductance (gs), leaf water potential (Ψl), soil water (fraction of transpirable soil water (FTSW)) and Tc were conducted in surface drip irrigated cotton over two growing seasons. Associations between A, gs, Ψl, FTSW and Tc are presented, which are significantly improved with the inclusion of VPDa. It was concluded that utilising the strong associations between Ψl, VPDa and Tc, an adjustment of 1.8°C for each unit of VPDa should be made to the critical Tc for irrigation. This will improve the precision of irrigation in Tc based irrigation scheduling protocols. Improved accuracy in water stress detection with Tc, and an understanding of the interaction the environment plays in this response, can potentially improve the efficiency of irrigation.

Additional keywords: cotton, gas exchange, Gossypium hirsutum, irrigation, leaf water potential, plant-water relations, soil water.


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