Delayed water loss and temperature rise in floral buds compared with leaves of Brassica rapa subjected to a transient water stress during reproductive development.

Abstract

Leaf canopy temperature has been proposed as a rapid selection tool for drought tolerance among crop genotypes. However, floral bud temperature may be a better indicator of drought tolerance than leaf temperature in grain crops. In this study, we examined whether the floral bud and leaves of Brassica rapa L. had similar stomatal characteristics and showed similar water loss during a drying cycle. We also compared the leaf and bud temperatures when the plants were exposed to a 10-day transient water stress during reproductive development that affected flower development, increased flower abortion, increased pod abortion and reduced yield by an average of 85%. The water loss of detached leaves and floral buds showed that the stomata on the leaves closed before those of the floral buds as the leaf water potential decreased. Consistent with the water loss studies, the temperature of the intact bud showed a delayed increase during the drying process compared with the leaves. This suggested that floral bud temperature could be a useful indicator of the water status of the reproductive organs of B. rapa.