Abstract
One-year-old paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) seedlings were exposed to water deficit, ethylene, or inhibitors of ethylene action under greenhouse conditions to investigate ethylene's role in water-deficit stress-induced leaf abscission. Exposing well-watered and water-stressed paper birch to 20 ppm ethylene resulted in more than 50% leaf abscission after 96 h regardless of plant water status. However, application of a physiological level (1 ppm) of ethylene did not cause leaf abscission in either well-watered or water-stressed paper birch. Inhibitors of ethylene action (1ppm 1-methylcyclopropene or 0.1 mm silver thiosulfate) did not affect predawn water potential, gas exchange, or chlorophyll fluorescence. A significant increase in ethylene production was not detected in water-stressed paper birch before the onset of significant leaf abscission. Based on these observations, ethylene would appear to play a minor role in water-deficit stress-induced leaf abscission in paper birch.
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