Water relations and some aspects of leaf metabolism of Jatropha curcas young plants under two water deficit levels and recovery

Abstract

Stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration (E), relative water content (RWC), superoxide dismutase activity (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), leaf carbohydrate soluble (LCS), free amino acids (FAA) and total protein (TP) content were measured under mild and severe drought stress in young potted Jatropha curcas L. in the greenhouse. The plants were kept for 12 days under three different water regimes, control (well hydrated), 50% irrigation control (mild stress) and 25% (severe stress), after rehydration were measured on the second and fourth day. Both mild and severe stress decreased gs and E; however, only severe stress reduced LCS, FAA and TP content and increased SOD activity (70%) and MDA content (60%) compared with the control. Moreover, under these conditions the plants showed severe leaf senescence. These results show that only severe drought stress decrease foliar metabolism in potted plants. These results show that severe drought decreased metabolism and leaf RWC, in potted plants. However, 48 h under a moderate stress is enough to drive the stomatal control is the main barrier against water loss. Finally, in the fourth day after rehydration the plants under a moderate and severe drought even had a gs and E reduced in both evaluation periods.