Evaluation of the physiological significance of leaf wetting by dew as a supplemental water resource in semi-arid crop production

Gaku Yokoyama, Daisuke Yasutake, Keisuke Minami, Kensuke Kimura, Atsushi Marui, Wu Yueru, Jiaojiao Feng, Weizhen Wang, Makito Mori and Masaharu Kitano

Agricultural Water Management, 2021, vol. 255, issue C

Abstract: Dew is a frequently observed meteorological phenomenon and its importance to the water balance in arid and semi-arid regions has been recognized. The focus of our study was to evaluate the potential significance of leaf wetting by dew on semi-arid crop production in terms of its effects on plant physiological functions. We conducted a field experiment in a maizefield in northwest China. Leaf wetting by dew occurred on 45% of days during cultivation periods, and leaf water potential was higher for leaves wetted by dew than for those not wetted during the morning. In addition, we conducted a potted maize control experiment consisting of four treatments (two different soil water treatments: water-stressed and well-watered, and two different leaf wetting treatments: with and without leaf wetting). The water-stressed treatment strongly inhibited plant physiological functions (decrease in leaf water potential, stomatal closure, decrease in photosynthetic rate); therefore, growth rate decreased. However, in the water-stressed with leaf wetting plot, the maize leaves absorbed water from their surfaces during nighttime, which significantly increased pre-dawn leaf water potential. Consequently, this plot showed a higher photosynthetic rate than did the water-stressed without leaf wetting plot during daytime. The positive effects of leaf wetting on plant physiological functions were not explicit in the well-watered plots. We assumed that the positive effects of leaf wetting were mainly manifest as effects on plant–water relations; such effects may be limited when plants have sufficient water. As a result, water-stressed plants with leaf wetting showed greater water use efficiency. Our results indicate the importance of leaf wetting by dew as a water resource in semi-arid crop production owing its effects on plant physiological functions.

Keywords: Zea mays; Cornfield; Water use efficiency; Irrigation; Water stress; Plant–water relations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:255:y:2021:i:c:s0378377421002298

DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2021.106964

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