How Does Water-Stressed Corn Respond to Potassium Nutrition? A Shoot-Root Scale Approach Study under Controlled Conditions

Lionel Jordan-Meille, Elsa Martineau, Yoran Bornot, José Lavres, Cassio Hamilton Abreu-Junior and Jean-Christophe Domec
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Lionel Jordan-Meille: ISPA, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, UMR 1391, INRA, 33140 Villenave d’Ornon, France
Elsa Martineau: ISPA, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, UMR 1391, INRA, 33140 Villenave d’Ornon, France
Yoran Bornot: INRA UMR 1137 Ecologie et Ecophysiologie Forestières, 54280 Champenoux, France
José Lavres: USP-CENA, Plant Nutrition Laboratory, University of Sao Paulo, Piracicaba, SP 13416-000, Brazil
Cassio Hamilton Abreu-Junior: USP-CENA, Plant Nutrition Laboratory, University of Sao Paulo, Piracicaba, SP 13416-000, Brazil
Jean-Christophe Domec: ISPA, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, UMR 1391, INRA, 33140 Villenave d’Ornon, France

Agriculture, 2018, vol. 8, issue 11, 1-18

Abstract: Potassium (K) is generally considered as being closely linked to plant water dynamics. Consequently, reinforcing K nutrition, which theoretically favors root growth and specific surface, extends leaf lifespan, and regulates stomatal functioning, is often used to tackle water stress. We designed a greenhouse pot-scale device to test these interactions on corn ( Zea mays L.), and to analyze their links to plant transpiration. Three levels of K nutrition were combined with two water-supply treatments. Shoot and root development and growth were continuously measured during a 60-day-long experiment. Individual plant transpiration was measured by weighing pots and by calculating water mass balances. The results showed that, although K deficiency symptoms resembled those caused by water shortage, there was no advantage to over-fertilizing water-stressed plants. K failed to decrease either the transpiration per unit leaf surface or to improve water use efficiency. The link between K nutrition and plant transpiration appears solely attributable to the effect of K on leaf area. We conclude that K over-fertilization could ultimately jeopardize crops by enhancing early-stage water transpiration to the detriment of later developmental stages.

Keywords: potassium supply; drought; Zea mays L.; root architecture; leaf area; transpiration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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