ABSTRACT
When water availability in the soil is reduced, plants respond decreasing transpiration rate, growth and development in an attempt to acclimate to water deficit. To quantify these responses in seedlings of Corymbia citriodora (Hook.) K.D. Hill & L.A.S. Johnson, we used the methodology of the Fraction of Transpirable Soil Water (FTSW), in an experiment conducted in a greenhouse, in a completely randomized design with two levels of water supplementation, two application times of water deficiency and nine replicates. The FTSW and the transpiration, growth and development parameters were measured daily during the application of water deficiency. The FTSW threshold, in which transpiration, growth and development begin to be reduced, was variable for different application times of water stress due to the difference in weather conditions. The high values of FTSW indicate that the species has good acclimation to soil water deficit compared to annuals and other perennials species.
Keywords:
Water relationship; Vapour pressure deficit; Stomatal closure
