The water relations of the field bean crop

Abstract

The water relations of crops of field beans, Vicia faba , are analysed. Three parameters (the solute potential at zero turgor, the relative water content at zero turgor and the slope of the line relating pressure potential to relative water content) are used. All three decrease with water stress. Measurements of leaf area show that water stress decreases the absolute growth rate but does not affect the duration of growth very much.