Evaluating growth platforms and stress scenarios to assess the salt tolerance of wheat plants
Harald Hackl A , Yuncai Hu A and Urs Schmidhalter A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Plant Sciences, Technische Universität München, Emil-Ramann-Str. 2, 85350 Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany.
B Corresponding author. Email: schmidhalter@wzw.tum.de
Functional Plant Biology 41(8) 860-873 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP13233
Submitted: 3 August 2013 Accepted: 8 February 2014 Published: 25 March 2014
Abstract
Crops are routinely subjected to a combination of different abiotic stresses. Simplified platforms, stress scenarios and stress protocols are used to study salt tolerance under largely controlled and uniform conditions that are difficult to extrapolate to real arid and semiarid field conditions. To address the latter deficit, this work compares a realistic stress protocol (for salinity alone, drought alone and combined salinity plus drought stress) simulating a field environment in large containers to equivalent results from a more artificial pot environment. The work was based on two wheat cultivars known to differ in their salt tolerance (salt-sensitive Sakha 61 and salt-tolerant Sakha 93). Our results showed that previously established differences in the salt tolerances of the two wheat cultivars were no longer valid when the plants were exposed to a combined stress of salinity plus drought, regardless of the growth platform. Furthermore, in comparing a simulated field root-environment (containers) with pots, our results showed an interactive effect between the different treatments and platforms for both of the investigated cultivars. We conclude that a combined salinity + drought stress scenario and a reliable growth platform are of utmost importance in screening for salt tolerance of spring wheat. In future studies, increased emphasis should be placed on combining salinity with drought stress in well suited platforms to better mimic real field conditions where salinity is present.
Additional keywords: drought tolerance, phenomics, phenotyping, pot size, salinity tolerance, spring wheat.
References
Ashraf M (1994) Breeding for salinity tolerance in plants. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences 13, 17–42.| Breeding for salinity tolerance in plants.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Broadbent F, Nakashima T, Rolston D (1988) Effects of salinity and moisture gradients on nitrogen uptake by sorghum and wheat. Soil Science 146, 232–240.
| Effects of salinity and moisture gradients on nitrogen uptake by sorghum and wheat.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Cramer GR (2002) Sodium-calcium interactions under salinity stress. In ‘Salinity: environment-plants-molecules’. (Eds M Läuchli, U Lüttge) pp. 205–228. (Kluwer Academic Publishers: London)
Dean-Knox DE, Devitt DA, Verchick LS, Morris RL (1998) Physiological response of two turfgrass species to varying ratios of soil matric and osmotic potentials. Crop Science 38, 175–181.
| Physiological response of two turfgrass species to varying ratios of soil matric and osmotic potentials.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ehret DL, Redmann RE, Harvey BL, Cipywnyk A (1990) Salinity-induced calcium deficiencies in wheat and barley. Plant and Soil 128, 143–151.
| Salinity-induced calcium deficiencies in wheat and barley.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
El-Hendawy SE, Hu Y, Yakout GM, Awad AM, Hafiz SE, Schmidhalter U (2005a) Evaluating salt tolerance of wheat genotypes using multiple parameters. European Journal of Agronomy 22, 243–253.
| Evaluating salt tolerance of wheat genotypes using multiple parameters.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
El-Hendawy SE, Hu Y, Schmidhalter U (2005b) Growth, ion content, gas exchange, and water relations of wheat genotypes differing in salt tolerance. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 56, 123–134.
| Growth, ion content, gas exchange, and water relations of wheat genotypes differing in salt tolerance.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
FAO (2008) FAO land and plant nutrition management service. Available at: http://www.fao.org/ag/agl/agll/spush [Verified 5 March 2014]
Flowers TJ, Flowers SA (2005) Why does salinity pose such a difficult problem for plant breeders? Agricultural Water Management 78, 15–24.
| Why does salinity pose such a difficult problem for plant breeders?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Frenkel H, Mantell A, Vinten A, Meiri A (1990) Double line-source sprinkler system for determining the separate and interactive effects of water and salinity on forage corn. Irrigation Science 11, 227–231.
| Double line-source sprinkler system for determining the separate and interactive effects of water and salinity on forage corn.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Genc Y, McDonald GK, Tester M (2007) Reassessment of tissue Na+ concentration as a criterion for salinity tolerance in bread wheat. Plant, Cell & Environment 30, 1486–1498.
| Reassessment of tissue Na+ concentration as a criterion for salinity tolerance in bread wheat.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Grieve CM, Francois LE, Maas EV (1994) Salinity affects the timing of phasic development in spring wheat. Crop Science 34, 1544–1549.
| Salinity affects the timing of phasic development in spring wheat.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hackl H, Baresel JP, Mistele B, Hu Y, Schmidhalter U (2012) A comparison of plant temperatures as measure by thermal imaging and infrared thermometry. Journal Agronomy & Crop Science 198, 415–429.
| A comparison of plant temperatures as measure by thermal imaging and infrared thermometry.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hackl H, Mistele B, Hu Y, Schmidhalter U (2013) Spectral assessments of wheat plants grown in pots and containers. Functional Plant Biology 40, 409–424.
| Spectral assessments of wheat plants grown in pots and containers.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hao N, de Jong E (1988) Growth of wheat and barley seedlings at different matric and osmotic potentials. Agronomy Journal 80, 807–811.
| Growth of wheat and barley seedlings at different matric and osmotic potentials.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hollington PA (1998) Technological breakthroughs in screening/breeding wheat varieties for salt tolerance. In ‘National conference on salinity management in agriculture’. pp. 273–289. (CSSRI Karnal: India)
Homaee M, Schmidhalter U (2008) Water integration by plants root under non-uniform soil salinity. Irrigation Science 27, 83–95.
| Water integration by plants root under non-uniform soil salinity.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hu Y, Schmidhalter U (1998) Spatial distributions of inorganic ions and sugars contributing to osmotic adjustment in the elongating wheat leaf under saline soil conditions. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 25, 591–597.
| Spatial distributions of inorganic ions and sugars contributing to osmotic adjustment in the elongating wheat leaf under saline soil conditions.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hu YC, Schmidhalter U (2005) Drought and salinity: a comparison of their effects on the mineral nutrition of plants. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science 168, 541–549.
| Drought and salinity: a comparison of their effects on the mineral nutrition of plants.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Katerji N, Mastrorilli M, Van Hoorn JW, Lahmer FZ, Hamdy A, Oweis T (2009) Durum wheat and barley productivity in saline-drought environments. European Journal of Agronomy 31, 1–9.
| Durum wheat and barley productivity in saline-drought environments.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Klute A (1986) Water retention: laboratory methods. In ‘Methods of soil analysis. Part 1’. (2nd edn) (Ed. A Klute) Agronomy Monograph 9, 635–662.
Mittler R (2006) Abiotic stress, the field environment and stress combination. Trends in Plant Science 11, 15–19.
| Abiotic stress, the field environment and stress combination.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 16359910PubMed |
Moffat AS (2002) Finding new ways to protect drought-stricken plants. Science 296, 1226–1229.
| Finding new ways to protect drought-stricken plants.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 12016289PubMed |
Munns R, James RA, Sirault XRR, Furbank RT, Jones HG (2010) New phenotyping methods for screening wheat and barley for beneficial responses to water deficit. Journal of Experimental Botany 61, 3499–3507.
| New phenotyping methods for screening wheat and barley for beneficial responses to water deficit.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 20605897PubMed |
Passioura JB (2006) The perils of pot experiments. Functional Plant Biology 33, 1075–1079.
| The perils of pot experiments.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Passioura JB (2010) Scaling up: the essence of effective agricultural research. Functional Plant Biology 37, 585–591.
| Scaling up: the essence of effective agricultural research.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Peterson CM, Klepper B, Pumphrey FV, Rickman RW (1984) Restricted rooting decreases tillering and growth of winter wheat. Agronomy Journal 76, 861–863.
| Restricted rooting decreases tillering and growth of winter wheat.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Poorter H, Bühler J, van Dusschoten D, Climent J, Postma JA (2012) Pot size matters: a meta-analysis of the effects of rooting volume on plant growth. Functional Plant Biology 39, 839–850.
| Pot size matters: a meta-analysis of the effects of rooting volume on plant growth.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Rajala KH, Mäkelä P, Peltonen-Sainio P (2011) Drought effect on grain number and grain weight at spike and spikelet level in six-row spring barley. Journal Agronomy & Crop Science 197, 103–112.
| Drought effect on grain number and grain weight at spike and spikelet level in six-row spring barley.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ray JD, Sinclair TR (1998) The effect of pot size on growth and transpiration of maize and soybean during water deficit stress. Journal of Experimental Botany 49, 1381–1386.
| The effect of pot size on growth and transpiration of maize and soybean during water deficit stress.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Robbins NS, Pharr DM (1988) Effect of restricted root growth on carbohydrate metabolism and whole plant growth of Cucumis sativus L. Plant Physiology 87, 409–413.
| Effect of restricted root growth on carbohydrate metabolism and whole plant growth of Cucumis sativus L.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 16666155PubMed |
Schmidhalter U, Oertli JJ (1986) Influence of matric and osmotic potentials on germination and seedling growth. In ‘Transactions XIII international congress of soil science’. pp. 152–154. (Hamburg, Germany)
Schmidhalter U, Oertli JJ (1991) Germination and seedling growth of carrots under salinity and moisture stress. Plant and Soil 132, 243–251.
Schmidhalter U, Evéquoz M, Camp KH, Studer C (1998) Sequence of drought response of maize seedlings in drying soil. Physiologia Plantarum 104, 159–168.
| Sequence of drought response of maize seedlings in drying soil.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Shani U, Dudley LM (2001) Field studies of crop response to water and salt stress. Soil Science Society of America Journal 65, 1522–1528.
| Field studies of crop response to water and salt stress.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Shani U, Ben-Gal A, Dudley L (2005) Environmental implications of adopting a dominant factor approach to salinity management. Journal of Environmental Quality 34, 1455–1460.
| Environmental implications of adopting a dominant factor approach to salinity management.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 16091597PubMed |
Shani U, Ben-Gal A, Tripler E, Dudley LM (2007) Plant response to the soil environment: an analytical model integrating yield, water, soil type and salinity. Water Resources Research 43, W08418
| Plant response to the soil environment: an analytical model integrating yield, water, soil type and salinity.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Singh Grewal H (2010) Response of wheat to subsoil salinity and temporary water stress at different stages of the reproductive phase. Plant and Soil 330, 103–113.
| Response of wheat to subsoil salinity and temporary water stress at different stages of the reproductive phase.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Stark JC, Jarrell WM (1980) Salinity-induced modifications in the response of maize to water deficits. Agronomy Journal 72, 745–748.
| Salinity-induced modifications in the response of maize to water deficits.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Steuter AA (1981) Water potential of aqueous polyethylene glycol. Plant Physiology 67, 64–67.
| Water potential of aqueous polyethylene glycol.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 16661635PubMed |
Tavakkoli E, Rengasamy P, McDonald GK (2010) The response of barley to salinity stress differs between hydroponics and soil systems. Functional Plant Biology 37, 621–633.
| The response of barley to salinity stress differs between hydroponics and soil systems.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Townend J, Dickinson AL (1995) A comparison of rooting environments in containers of different sizes. Plant and Soil 175, 139–146.
| A comparison of rooting environments in containers of different sizes.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wadleigh CH, Ayers AD (1945) Growth and biochemical composition of bean plants as conditioned by soil moisture tension and salt concentration. Plant Physiology 20, 106–132.
| Growth and biochemical composition of bean plants as conditioned by soil moisture tension and salt concentration.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 16653959PubMed |
Wallender WW, Tanji KK (2012) ‘Agricultural salinity assessment and management.’ (American Society of Civil Engineers: Reston, VA, USA)
Whitfield CP, Davison AW, Ashenden TW (1996) Interactive effects of ozone and soil volume on Plantago major. New Phytologist 134, 287–294.
| Interactive effects of ozone and soil volume on Plantago major.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wu Y, Huang M, Warrington DN (2011) Growth and transpiration of maize and winter wheat in response to water deficits in pots and plots. Environmental and Experimental Botany 71, 65–71.
| Growth and transpiration of maize and winter wheat in response to water deficits in pots and plots.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Zadoks JC, Chang TT, Konzak CF (1974) A decimal code for the growth stages of cereals. Weed Research 14, 415–421.
| A decimal code for the growth stages of cereals.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
