Abstract
Among grain legumes, faba bean is becoming increasingly popular in European agriculture due to recent economic and environmental interests. Faba bean can be a highly productive crop, but it is sensitive to drought stress and yields can vary considerably from season to season. Understanding the physiological basis of drought tolerance would indicate traits that can be used as indirect selection criteria for the development of cultivars adapted to drought conditions. To assess genotypic variation in physiological traits associated with drought tolerance in faba bean and to determine relationships among these attributes, two pot experiments were established in a growth chamber using genetic materials that had previously been screened for drought response in the field. Nine inbred lines of diverse genetic backgrounds were tested under adequate water supply and limited water conditions. The genotypes showed substantial variation in shoot dry matter, water use, stomatal conductance, leaf temperature, transpiration efficiency, carbon isotope discrimination (Δ13C), relative water content (RWC) and osmotic potential, determined at pre-flowering vegetative stage. Moisture deficits decreased water usage and consequently shoot dry matter production. RWC, osmotic potential, stomatal conductance and Δ13C were lower, whereas leaf temperature and transpiration efficiency were higher in stressed plants, probably due to restricted transpirational cooling induced by stomatal closure. Furthermore, differences in stomatal conductance, leaf temperature, Δ13C and transpiration efficiency characterized genotypes that were physiologically more adapted to water deficit conditions. Correlation analysis also showed relatively strong relationships among these variables under well watered conditions. The drought tolerant genotypes, ILB-938/2 and Melodie showed lower stomatal conductance associated with warmer leaves, whereas higher stomatal conductance and cooler leaves were observed in sensitive lines (332/2/91/015/1 and Aurora/1). The lower value of Δ13C coupled with higher transpiration efficiency in ILB-938/2, relative to sensitive lines (Aurora/1 and Condor/3), is indeed a desirable characteristic for water-limited environments. Finally, the results showed that stomatal conductance, leaf temperature and Δ13C are promising physiological indicators for drought tolerance in faba bean. These variables could be measured in pot-grown plants at adequate water supply and may serve as indirect selection criteria to pre-screen genotypes.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- Δ13C:
-
Carbon isotope discrimination
- RWC:
-
Relative water content
- TE:
-
Transpiration efficiency
References
Abdelmula AA, Link W, Kittlitz EV, Stelling D (1999) Heterosis and inheritance of drought tolerance in faba bean, Vicia faba L. Plant Breed 118:485–490
Amani I, Fischer RA, Reynolds MP (1996) Canopy temperature depression association with yield of irrigated spring wheat cultivars in a hot climate. J Agron Crop Sci 176:119–129
Amede T, Kittlitz EV, Schubert S (1999) Differential drought responses of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) inbred lines. J Agron Crop Sci 183:35–45
Amede T, Schubert S (2003) Mechanisms of drought resistance in grain legumes I. Osmotic adjustment. Ethiop J Sci 26:37–46
Balko C, Stelling D, Laher F, Seddig S, Kittlitz EV, Jürgens HU (1995) Investigations into selection for drought tolerance in Vicia faba L. In Chapter 2. International Congress on Integrated Studies on Drought Tolerance of Higher Plants, August 31–September 2, Montpellier, France
Bond DA, Jellis GJ, Rowland GG, Guen J Le, Robertson LD, Khalil SA, Li-Juan L (1994) Present status and future strategy in breeding faba beans (Vicia faba L.) for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Euphytica 73:151–166
Blum A (1984) Methods of selection for plant tolerance to environmental stresses. In: Selection in mutation breeding. Proceedings of the Consultants’ Meeting, Vienna, 21–25 June 1982. pp. 85–96. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria
DEFRA (2005) Agriculture in the United Kingdom. Great Britain Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK, pp. 143
Farquhar GD, Richards RA (1984) Isotope composition of plant carbon correlates with water use efficiency of wheat genotypes. Aust J Plant Physiol 11:539–552
Fischer RA, Rees D, Sayre KD, Lu ZM, Condon AG, Saavedra AL (1998) Wheat yield progress associated with higher stomatal conductance and photosynthetic rate, and cooler canopies. Crop Sci 38:1467–1475
Grzesiak S, Iijima M, Kono Y, Yamauchi A (1997) Differences in drought tolerance between cultivars of field bean and field pea. A comparison of drought-resistant and drought-sensitive cultivars. Acta Physiol Plant 19:349–357
Hall AE, Mutters RG, Farquhar GD (1992) Genotypic and drought induced differences in carbon isotope discrimination and gas exchange in cowpea. Crop Sci 32:1–6
Heringa RJ, Norel A, Post J (1984) Searching for tolerance to drought in Vicia faba. FABIS Newslett 8:13–14
Idso SB, Jackson RD, Pinter PJ, Reginato RJ, Hatfield JL (1981) Normalizing the stress degree day parameter for environmental variability. Agric Meteorol 24:45–55
Johnson RC, Muehlbauer FJ, Simon CJ (1995) Genetic variation in water use efficiency and its relation to photosynthesis and productivity in lentil germplasm. Crop Sci 35:457–463
Johnson DA, Rumbaugh MD (1995) Genetic variation and inheritance characteristics for carbon isotope discrimination in alfalfa. J Range Manag 48:126–131
Johnson RC, Tieszen LL (1994) Variation for water use efficiency in alfalfa germplasm. Crop Sci 34:452–458
Khan HR, McDonald GK, Rengel Z (2004) Zinc fertilization and water stress affects plant water relations, stomatal conductance and osmotic adjustment in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Plant Soil 267:271–284
Link W, Abdelmula AA, Kittlitz EV, Bruns S, Riemer H, Stelling D (1999) Genotypic variation for drought tolerance in Vicia faba. Plant Breed 118:477–483
Marsh TJ (1996) The 1995 UK drought—a signal of climatic instability? Proc Inst Civ Eng Water Marit Energy 118:189–195
Matus A, Slinkard AE, Kessel CV (1996) Carbon isotope discrimination and indirect selection for transpiration efficiency at flowering in lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus), spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L.) and canola (Brassica napus L.). Euphytica 87:141–145
McDonald GK, Paulsen GM (1997) High temperature effects on photosynthesis and water relations of grain legumes. Plant Soil 196:47–58
Nerkar YS, Wilson D, Lawes DA (1981) Genetic variation in stomatal characteristics and behaviour, water use and growth of five Vicia faba L. genotypes under contrasting soil moisture regimes. Euphytica 30:335–345
O’Neill PM, Shanahan JF, Schepers JS (2006) Use of chlorophyll fluorescence assessments to differentiate corn hybrid response to variable water conditions. Crop Sci 46:681–687
Pinter PJ, Zipoli G, Reginato RJ, Jackson RD, Idso SB, Hohman JP (1990) Canopy temperature as an indicator of differential water use and yield performance among wheat cultivars. AgricWater Manag 18:35–48
Plies-Balzer E, Kong T, Schubert S, Mengel K (1995) Effect of water stress on plant growth, nitrogenase activity and nitrogen economy of four different cultivars of Vicia faba L. Eur J Agron 4:167–173
Reynolds MP, Balota M, Delgado MIB, Amani I, Fischer RA (1994) Physiological and morphological traits associated with spring wheat yield under hot, irrigated conditions. Aust J Plant Physiol 21:717–730
Robson MC, Fowler SM, Lampkin NH, Leifert C, Leitch M, Robinson D, Watson CA, Litterick AM (2002) The agronomic and economic potential of break crops for ley/arable rotations in temperate organic agriculture. Adv Agron 77:369–427
Ricciardi A (1989) Plant breeding for resistance to drought II. Relationships between stomatal and agronomic traits in Vicia faba L. genotypes. Agric Mediterr 119:424–434
Ricciardi L, Polignano GB, Giovanni CD (2001) Genotypic response of faba bean to water stress. Euphytica 118:39–46
Sánchez FJ, Manzanares M, de Andrés EF, Tenorio JL, Ayerbe L (2001) Residual transpiration rate, epicuticular wax load and leaf colour of pea plants in drought conditions. Influence on harvest index and canopy temperature. Eur J Agron 15:57–70
Singh P, Kanemasu ET (1983) Leaf and canopy temperature of pearl millet genotypes under irrigated and non-irrigated conditions. Agron J 75:497–501
Stoddard FL, Balko C, Erskine W, Khan HR, Link W, Sarker A (2006) Screening techniques and sources of resistance to abiotic stresses in cool-season food legumes. Euphytica 147:167–186
Subbarao GV, Johansen C, Slinkard AE, Nageswara Rao RC, Saxena NP, Chauhan YS (1995) Strategies for improving drought resistance in grain legumes. Crit Rev Plant Sci 14:469–523
Tanzarella OA, De Pace C, Filippetti A (1984) Stomatal frequency and size in Vicia faba L. Crop Sci 24:1070–1076
Tolera T, Link W (2002) Genotypische Unterschiede zwischen Europäischen Elitesorten von Vicia faba L. im Merkmal Trockenheitstoleranz. Vorträge für Pflanzenzüchtung 54:465–468 (In German)
Turner NC (1981) Techniques and experimental approaches for the measurement of plant water status. Plant Soil 58:339–366
Wery J, Silim SN, Knights EJ, Malhotra RS, Cousin S (1994) Screening techniques and sources and tolerance to extremes of moisture and air temperature in cool season food legumes. Euphytica 73:73–83
Zacharisen MH, Brick MA, Fisher AG, Ogg JB, Ehleringer JR (1999) Relationships between productivity and carbon isotope discrimination among dry bean lines and F2 progeny. Euphytica 105:239–250
Acknowledgements
This work was carried out with the financial support of EU that was provided under project QLK5-CT-2002-02307 “Faba bean Breeding for Sustainable Agriculture”, acronym EUFABA. Technical assistance of Robert Hooton and Fiona Bowers for this work is gratefully acknowledged.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Khan, H.R., Link, W., Hocking, T.J. et al. Evaluation of physiological traits for improving drought tolerance in faba bean (Vicia faba L.). Plant Soil 292, 205–217 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-007-9217-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-007-9217-5