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Stem and whole-plant hydraulics in olive (Olea europaea) and kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa)

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Abstract

A field study and an experiment under controlled conditions using pressure-flux relationships were conducted to compare the stem and whole-plant conductance in olive (Olea europaea) and kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) species. Anatomical observations were also made on one-year-old stem to determine the conductive area of vessels (A ves) and the total xylem area (A xyl). Results show that A ves of kiwifruit twigs was ~2.5-fold of that in olive twigs, and the hydraulically weighted mean diameter was up to threefold that of the olive ones. One-year-old olive twigs had lower hydraulic conductivity (k) than the kiwifruit, while values of leaf-specific conductivity (i.e. k normalised per unit leaf area) were higher than the kiwifruit (i.e. ~49 and 29 × 10−6 kg m−1 s−1 MPa−1, respectively). In the field experiment, the flux of sap (heat balance method) and differences in water potential through the soil–plant system (ΔP) were used for both species to calculate the whole-plant conductance that was normalised per unit leaf area (leaf-specific whole-plant conductance, K plant,LA). Values of K plant,LA are attributable to the combined effect of the ΔP and anatomical features of conduits. Olive species showed a larger ΔP (2.4 MPa at midday) than the kiwifruit (0.5 MPa) which contributed to lower K plant,LA in Olea than the Actinidia plants. This information, combined with vessel density data, contributes to explain differences amidst olive and kiwifruit species, in terms of susceptibility to some drought-related hydraulic impairments induced by the Mediterranean environment.

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Acknowledgments

This study was part of the PRIN2009 Programme of the Italian Ministry of University Research (2009HC39YN and 20092MES7A_005 Projects).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento delle Culture Europee e del Mediterraneo: Architettura, Ambiente, Patrimoni Culturali (DiCEM), Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Potenza, Italy

    Bartolomeo Dichio, Giuseppe Montanaro & Cristos Xiloyannis

  2. Scuola di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Potenza, Italy

    Adriano Sofo

Authors
  1. Bartolomeo Dichio
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  2. Giuseppe Montanaro
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  3. Adriano Sofo
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  4. Cristos Xiloyannis
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Correspondence to Bartolomeo Dichio.

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Communicated by M. Zwieniecki.

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Dichio, B., Montanaro, G., Sofo, A. et al. Stem and whole-plant hydraulics in olive (Olea europaea) and kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa). Trees 27, 183–191 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-012-0787-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-012-0787-3

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