Response of Selected Garden Roses to Drought Stress Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • A greenhouse study was conducted to evaluate the response of four garden roses (Rosa hybrid L.), RADrazz, Belindas Dream, Old Blush, and Marie Pavie, to drought stress. Plants grown in containers were subjected to two watering treatments, well-irrigated [water as needed: 35% substrate moisture content (SMC) at re-watering] and cyclic drought stress (withholding irrigation until plants exhibit incipient wilting: 10% SMC, then re-watering to field capacity for subsequent dry down). Shoot growth and flower number were reduced in the drought treatment compared with the well-irrigated plants in all cultivars with least reduction in RADrazz. Drought stress reduced root growth in Belindas Dream and Marie Pavie, whereas there was no difference in root growth in RADrazz and Old Blush. Decreased SMC induced reduction in net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (gS), transpiration rate (E), and midday leaf water potential (). Leaf water use efficiency (WUE) increased as SMC decreased in all cultivars. However, the relationship between these physiological parameters and SMC differed among the cultivars. At SMC between 10% and 20%, RADrazz had higher Pn, gS, E, and WUE compared with the other three cultivars. Therefore, RADrazz was the most drought-tolerant during container production among the cultivars investigated. With lower gas exchange rates and greater reduction in flower number at low SMC, Marie Pavie was less drought-tolerant compared with the other three cultivars.

published proceedings

  • HORTSCIENCE

author list (cited authors)

  • Cai, X., Starman, T., Niu, G., Hall, C., & Lombardini, L.

citation count

  • 15

complete list of authors

  • Cai, Xiaoya||Starman, Terri||Niu, Genhua||Hall, Charles||Lombardini, Leonardo

publication date

  • August 2012