Working Paper Article Version 1 This version is not peer-reviewed

Differences in Leaf Water Use Efficiency Among Soybean Cultivars not Well Correlated with Carbon Isotope Ratios

Version 1 : Received: 29 March 2019 / Approved: 1 April 2019 / Online: 1 April 2019 (13:39:46 CEST)

How to cite: Bunce, J. Differences in Leaf Water Use Efficiency Among Soybean Cultivars not Well Correlated with Carbon Isotope Ratios. Preprints 2019, 2019040018 Bunce, J. Differences in Leaf Water Use Efficiency Among Soybean Cultivars not Well Correlated with Carbon Isotope Ratios. Preprints 2019, 2019040018

Abstract

High intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi), the ratio of leaf photosynthesis to stomatal conductance, may be a useful trait in adapting crops to water-limited environments. Carbon isotope ratios can be a useful indicator of WUEi, but might not be well correlated with it if the plants compared differ substantially in mesophyll conductance. In this study, six cultivars of soybeans previously shown to differ in WUEi in indoor experiments were grown in the field in Beltsville, Maryland, and mid-day WUEi was measured on nine clear days during mid-seasons of two years. Measurement dates were chosen for diverse temperatures, and air temperatures ranged from 21 to 34 oC on the different dates. Corrected carbon isotope delta values for 13C (CID) were determined on mature, upper canopy leaves harvested during early pod filling each year. WUEi differed among cultivars both years and the differences were consistent across measurement dates. Correlations between mean WUEi and CID were not significant in either year. It is concluded that consistent cultivar differences in WUEi exist in these soybean cultivars under field conditions, but that carbon isotope ratios may not be useful in identifying them.

Keywords

water use efficiency; soybean; stomatal conductance; photosynthesis; carbon isotope

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Agricultural Science and Agronomy

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