Abstract
Several plant species such as grasses are dominant in many habitats including arid and semi-arid areas. These species survive in these regions by developing exclusive structures, which helps in the collection of atmospheric water. Before the collected water evaporates, these structures have unique canopy structure for water transportation that plays an equivalent share in the fog-harvesting mechanism. In this review, the atmospheric gaseous water harvesting mechanisms and their affinity of measurements were discussed. Morphological adaptations and their role in the capturing of atmospheric gaseous water of various species were also discussed. The key factor for the water collection and its conduction in the wheat plant is the information of contact angle hysteresis. In wheat, leaf rolling and its association with wetting property help the plant in water retention. Morphological adaptations, i.e., leaf erectness, grooves, and prickle hairs, also help in the collection and acquisition of water droplets by stem flows in directional guide toward the base of the plant and allow its rapid uptake. Morphological adaptation strengthens the harvesting mechanism by preventing the loss of water through shattering. Thus, wheat canopy architecture can be modified to harvest the atmospheric water and directional movement of water towards the root zone for self-irrigation. Moreover, these morphological adaptations are also linked with drought avoidance and corresponding physiological processes to resist water stress. The combination of these traits together with water use efficiency in wheat contributes to a highly efficient atmospheric water harvesting system that enables the wheat plants to reduce the cost of production. It also increases the yielding potential of the crop in arid and semi-arid environments. Further investigating the ecophysiology and molecular pathways of these morphological adaptations in wheat may have significant applications in varying climatic scenarios.
Highlights
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is of major dietary importance worldwide
The first part of the review focuses on the effects and responses of drought stress on wheat crop and the second part discussed the potential of leaf rolling dynamics in fog capturing
Morphological features may play an important role in water conservation and enhance leaf water potential that increases the photosynthesis rate and growth of the plant
Summary
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is of major dietary importance worldwide. It is a valuable source of major nutrients that can reduce the risk of human diseases such as diabetes type II, colon or rectal cancer, and cardiovascular disease (Shewry and Hey 2015). Ray et al (2013) reported that global wheat production is 38% less than projected demand in the future (2050) This reduction may be compromised by several factors such as climate change, insufficient freshwater, and lower resource use efficiency. Climate changes, increased human growth and demand, unsustainable agricultural practices, and deforestation negatively affect the worldwide accessibility of freshwater (Trenberth et al 2014) Among these stressors, global warming and long periods of drought cause the most significant decline in freshwater supply (Bhushan 2020). Leaf rolling dynamics of a wheat plant supports the high input use efficiency that can compensate yield losses under drought stress. The first part of the review focuses on the effects and responses of drought stress on wheat crop and the second part discussed the potential of leaf rolling dynamics in fog capturing. Collection and retention of fog water in wheat through morphological adaptation, i.e., leaf rolling, longitudinal grooves, leaf erectness, and prickle hairs, will be discussed
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