Relationships between plant growth and moisture levels in the soil

Abstract

Plant production is a result of manu integrate physiological processes which occur during growing season. Whathever those processes show considerable individuality with relation to environment. In this work the vegetative growth of potato plants (Solanum tuberosum L.) growing in the field was observed for three soil moisture regimes in three growth stages. The vegetative growth was evaluated through leaf area estimate in weakly basis. The results showed that by the ending of the first growth stage (about 25 days after plant emergency) the vegetative growth in the treatment where soil water matric potential never dropped less than -0.5 bar, exceeded in about 34 percent that observed for plants submitted to moderate water deficits (-1.0 bar), and in about 80 percent for those submitted to more severe water deficits (5.0 bars). However, the inhibition of vegetative growth in the first treatment was partially recovered after the re-establishment of suitable soil water condition. Occuring more severe water deficits in the initial growth stage, recovering of normal rates of vegetative growth did not occur upon rewatering. Intensive soil water depletion after complete vegetative growth hastenned plant senescence when compared with plants growing in well watered soils.