| heal.abstract |
Two-year-old self-rooted 'Chondrolia Chalkidikis' olive trees (Olea europaea L.) were subjected to two irrigation regimes, i.e., the fully irrigated and the severely water stressed trees, previously treated with three alleviating products of different mode of action. The alleviating products were the osmolyte glycine betaine, the antioxidant Ambiol and the heat and irradiance reflecting kaolin clay particles. The effects of product application and water regime on shoot growth and trunk expansion, photosynthesis and leaf carbohydrates concentration were evaluated. Irrigated trees presented greater trunk expansion than drought stressed ones, while carbon assimilation rate, stomatal conductance and intrinsic water use efficiency were significantly reduced under drought stress. The opposite stood for intercellular CO 2 which was greatly increased under drought stress conditions. Drought stress resulted in elevated mannitol leaf concentration, while the application of kaolin clay particles resulted in higher sucrose concentration. Among the alleviating products tested in this experiment kaolin clay particles and glycine betaine had a slight positive effect on photosynthesis under drought stress conditions. |
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