The effects of soil moisture stress on the growth of barley. I. Vegetative development and grain yield

Abstract

The effects of soil moisture stress on tillering, stem elongation, and grain yield of barley (cv. Prior) have been studied by subjecting the plants to periods of stress at different stages of development. Soil moisture stress treatments consisted of repeated short cycles of stress, single short cycles (both in large pots), or single long cycles (in large lysimeters). The data collected support the contention that the organ which is growing most rapidly at the time of a stress is the one most affected. Grain numbers per ear were seriously affected by stress occurring prior to anthesis, an effect probably associated with the process of spikelet initiation and, later, with the formation of the gametes. Grain size, on the other hand, was reduced more by stress at anthesis and shortly after. Elongation of the internodes was reduced mostly by stress at or just before earing, and was less seriously affected by earlier or later stress. Tillering, although being suppressed during a drought cycle, was actually stimulated upon rewatering. The effect was greater the earlier the period of stress, and was probably related to nutrient uptake and distribution within the plant.