Year-end Sale % OFF 
Abstract
The effects of drought stress, Phytophthora cinnamomi infection and their interaction on water relations and growth were examined for 28 days on two year-old potted trees of Eucalyptus obliqua (L’Hér.). There were significant effects of drought stress on plant photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, biomass accumulation, plant water potential at turgor loss point and the bulk modulus of elasticity. E. obliqua was successfully infected but the trees showed only mild symptoms. Infection with P. cinnamomi led to a significant reduction in the root biomass and root-to-shoot ratio in well-watered and droughted plants but did not impact water relations. There was no observable cumulative effect of drought and P. cinnamomi infection. There are multiple potential reasons why P. cinnamomi infection did not lead to drought-like symptoms in E. obliqua, including short experimental duration, delayed infection symptoms, potential resistance of E. obliqua and a possible lower aggressiveness of the P. cinnamomi strain. Hence, our results indicate that P. cinnamomi infection will not always lead to immediate short-term symptoms, and that plants that are mildly symptomatic respond very similar to drought stress compared to non-infected trees.
Highlights
Introduction obliquaForests 2021, 12, 109. https://Drought stress is one of the major factors leading to the degradation of forests worldwide [1,2,3,4]
In Australia, Phytophthora has been strongly linked to many cases of tree dieback in both native and urban ecosystems [21,22], in Victoria [23], Northern Queensland [24] and Western Australia [25,26]
This study investigated the effects of drought, P. cinnamomi infection, and the interaction of both factors on the water relations and gas exchange in Eucalyptus obliqua
Summary
Drought stress is one of the major factors leading to the degradation of forests worldwide [1,2,3,4]. Phytophthora has a wide range of host plants, including many Australian native plant species [27], e.g., members of the genus Eucalyptus [20,21]. This pathogen is considered as a major threat to the Australian biodiversity under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 [28,29]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
