Drought Adaptation in Fuchsia magellanica and Its Effect on Freezing Tolerance

Abstract

Fuchsia (Fuchsia L.) is a popular woody ornamental, but it is very susceptible to frost injury during winter. As drought stress may be used to enhance freezing tolerance in woody plants, the effects of different types of water deficit on growth, selected physiological traits, and freezing tolerance were examined in Fuchsia magellanica Lam. ‘Riccartonii’. Drought responses were investigated after 6 weeks of pretreatment, where individual plants grown in a greenhouse under conditions of unrestricted water supply were compared with plants subjected to cyclic or continuous water deficit. After an additional 4 weeks of treatment at short day (10 h) and low temperature (8 °C day/4 °C night), freezing tolerance was examined. Both continuous and cyclic water deficit plants reduced water loss by reducing aboveground biomass and by efficient stomatal regulation. Continuous water deficit plants tended to adjust osmotically, while cyclic water deficit induced significantly higher xylem sap abscisic acid [(ABA)xylem] and leaf proline concentrations and a lower leaf water potential (ψl) than continuous water deficit, indicating that F. magellanica responds differently to continuous water deficit and to fast drying associated with stress phases of cyclic water deficit. The root water potential (ψr) and (ABA)xylem were negatively linearly correlated, implying that increasing water deficiency stimulated formation of ABA in the roots. An inverse, curvilinear relation between (ABA)xylem and stomatal conductance (g s) indicated that root-originated ABA might control g s during mild water deficits. Neither cold-acclimating conditions alone nor combined with water deficit increased stem freezing tolerance, indicating that F. magellanica lacks cold-acclimation ability under the inductive conditions used in this study.