Rapid injury to peas by soil waterlogging

Abstract

AbstractShort‐term responses of pea plants (Pisum sativum L. cv. ‘Sprite’) to waterlogging of the soil have been examined under glasshouse conditions. The symptoms of injury arising from one to four days of waterlogging included extensive desiccation and chlorosis of the foliage and lower rates of transpiration, stem extension, and growth of shoots and fruits. Premature quiescence of the apical bud of waterlogged plants reduced the number of fruiting nodes and extending internodes. Flowering plants at the 9‐ to 10‐leaf stage were found to be damaged more severely than young veetative plants bearing only 2 or 3 leaves. Waterlogging inhibited the uptake of nitrogen from the soil sufficiently to reduce its concentration in vegetative and fruit tissues. The uptake of potassium and phosphorus was less severely affected and the overall concentration in shoot tissues was slightly higher in waterlogged plants than in controls. The concentrations of manganese and calcium were not changed greatly by waterlogging. The equilibrium concentration of oxygen in the soil water fell to below 1% after 24 h of waterlogging while the amounts of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and ethylene increased considerably. The injury to plants grown in nutrient solution supplied with oxygen and carbon dioxide, at concentrations present in waterlogged soil, was much less than that sustained by plants growing in the waterlogged soil itself.