Skip to main content
Log in

Measurement of plant water status: Historical perspectives and current concerns

  • Published:
Irrigation Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

The slow development of concepts and methods for evaluating plant water status is reviewed. These include visual symptoms such as wilting and leaf rolling, measurement of water content, osmotic potential, and total water potential. The best method depends on the objectives of the user, but none of the methods are very well correlated with the effects of water stress on enzyme-mediated processes. Although some investigators claim that relative water content is better correlated with physiological processes than water potential, the latter has the advantage of providing results in well recognized physical units that apply to both plant and soil water status.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alvim P de T (1965) A new type of porometer for measuring stomatal opening and its use in irrigation studies. Arid Zone Res 25:325

    Google Scholar 

  • Alvim P de T, Havis JR (1954) An improved infiltration series for studying stomatal opening as illustrated with coffee. Plant Physiol 29:97

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkins WRG (1916) Some recent researches in plant physiology. Whitaker, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Bange GGJ (1953) On the quantitative explanation of stomatal transpiration. Acta Bot Neerl 2:255

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrs HD (1968) Determination of water deficits in plants tissues. In: Kozlowski TT (ed) Water deficits and plant growth, vol 1. Academic Press, New York, p 235

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrs HD, Weatherley PE (1962) A reexamination of the relative turgidity technique for estimating water deficits in leaves. Aust J Biol Sci 15:413

    Google Scholar 

  • Blum A, Schertz KF, Toler RW, Welch RI, Rosenow DT, Robinson JW, Clark LE (1978) Selection for drought in sorghum using aerial infrared photography. Agron 170:472

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyer JS (1969) Measurement of the water status of plants. Annu Rev Plant Physiol 20:351

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyer JS (1985) Water transport. Annu Rev Plant Physiol 36:473

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradford KJ, Hsiao TC (1982) Physiological responses to moderate water stress. Encycl Plant Physiol 12B: 263

    Google Scholar 

  • Briggs LJ, Shantz HL (1911) A wax seal method for determining the lower limit of available soil moisture. Bot Gaz 51:210

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown HT, Escombe F (1900) Static diffusion of gases and liquids in relation to the assimilation of carbon and translocation of plants. Philos Trans R Soc London, Ser B193:223

    Google Scholar 

  • Catsky J (1965) Leaf-disc method for determining water saturation deficit. Arid Zone Res 25:353

    Google Scholar 

  • Chang TT, Loresto GC (1986) Screening techniques for drought resistance in rice. In: Chopra VL, Paroda RS (eds) Approaches for incorporating drought and salinity resistance in crop plants. Oxford and IBH, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  • Clausen JJ, Kozlowski TT (1965) Use of the relative turgidity technique for measurement of water stresses in gymnosperm leaves. Can J Bot 43:305

    Google Scholar 

  • Cowan IR (1965) Transport of water in soil-plant-atmosphere system. J Appl Ecol 2:221

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies WJ, Metcalfe J, Lodge TA, da Costa HR (1986) Plant growth substances and the regulation of growth under drought. Aust J Plant Physiol 13:105

    Google Scholar 

  • Fiscus EL (1983) Water transport and balance within the plant: resistance to water flow in roots. In: Taylor HM, Jordan WR, Sinclair TR (eds) Limitations to efficient water use in crop production. Am Soc Agron, Madison, p 183

    Google Scholar 

  • Fiscus EL (1984) Integrated stomatal opening as an indicator of water stress in Zea. Crop Sci 24:245

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitting H (1911) Die Wasserversorgung und die osmotischen Druckverhältnisse der Wüstenpflanzen. Z Bot 3:209

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner WR, Nieman RH (1964) Lower limit of water availability to plants. Science 143:1460

    Google Scholar 

  • Gradmann H (1928) Untersuchungen über die Wasserverhältnisse des Bodens als Grundlage des Pflanzenwachstums. Jahrb Wiss Bot 69:1

    Google Scholar 

  • Hagan RM, Vaadia Y, Russell MB (1959) Interpretation of plant responses to soil moisture regimes. Adv Agron 11:77

    Google Scholar 

  • Hales S (1727) Vegetable Staticks. W. and J. Innys and T. Woodward, London (Reprinted by Scientific Book Guild, London 1961)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanson AD, Hitz WD (1982) Metabolic responses of mesophytes to plant water deficits. Annu Rev Plant Physiol 33:163

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris JA (1934) The physico-chemical properties of plant saps in relation to phytogeography. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis

    Google Scholar 

  • Hewlett JD, Kramer PJ (1963) The measurement of water deficits in broadleaf plants. Protoplasma 57:381

    Google Scholar 

  • Hsiao TC (1973) Plant responses to water stress. Annu Rev Plant Physiol 24:519

    Google Scholar 

  • Hsiao TC, Acevedo E, Fereres E, Henderson DW (1976) Water stress, growth, and osmotic adjustment. Philos Trans R Soc London, Ser B273:479

    Google Scholar 

  • Hsiao TC, Bradford KJ (1983) Physiological consequences of cellular water deficits. In: Taylor HM, Jordan WR, Sinclair TR (eds) Limitations to efficient water use in crop production. Agron Soc Am Madison, p 227

    Google Scholar 

  • Huber B (1924) Die Beurteilung des Wasserhaushaltes der Pflanze. Jahrb Wiss Bot 64:1

    Google Scholar 

  • Idso SD, Reginato RJ, Hatfield JL, Walker GK, Jackson RD, Pinter PL Jr (1980) A generalization of the stress-degree-day concept of yield prediction to accommodate a diversity of crops. Agric Meteorol 21:205

    Google Scholar 

  • Itai C, Vaadia Y (1965) Kinetin-like activity in root exudate of water-stressed sunflower plants. Physiol Plant 18:941

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson RD (1982) Canopy temperature and plant water stress. Adv Irrig 7:43

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobsen JV, Hanson AD, Chandler PC (1986) Water stress enhances expression of an α-amylase gene in barley leaves. Plant Physiol 80:350

    Google Scholar 

  • Knipling EB (1967) Effect of leaf aging on water deficit-water potential relationship of dogwood leaves growing in two environments. Physiol Plant 20:65

    Google Scholar 

  • Korstian CF (1924) Density of cell sap in relation to environmental conditions in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. J Agric Res (Washington, DC) 28:845

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramer PJ (1983) Water relations of plants. Academic Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Markhart AH III, Sionit N, Siedow JN (1981) Cell wall water dilution: an explanation of apparent negative turgor potentials. Can J Bot 59:1722

    Google Scholar 

  • Maximov HA (1929) The plant in relation to water. Allen & Unwin, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer BS, Anderson DB (1939) Plant physiology, 1st edn. Van Nostrand, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Milburn JA, Johnson RPC (1966) The conduction of sap. II. Detection of vibrations produced by sap cavitation in Ricinus xylem. Planta 69:43

    Google Scholar 

  • Monteith JL, Owen PC (1958) A thermocouple method for measuring relative humidity in the range 95–100%. J Sci Instrum 35:443

    Google Scholar 

  • Montfort C (1922) Die Wasserbilanz in Nährlösung, Salzlösung und Hochmoorwasser. Z Bot 14:98

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan JM (1984) Osmoregulation and water stress in higher plants. Annu Rev Plant Physiol 35:299

    Google Scholar 

  • Oosterhuis DM, Walker S, Eastham J (1985) Soybean leaflet movement as an indicator of crop water stress. Crop Sci 25:1101

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Toole JC, Cruz RT (1980) Response of leaf water potential, stomatal resistance and leaf rolling to water stress. Plant Physiol 63:428

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Toole JC, Turner NC, Namuco OP, Ding-Kuhn M, Gomez KA (1984) Comparison of some crop water stress measurement methods. Crop Sci 24:1121

    Google Scholar 

  • Owen PC (1952) The relation of germination of wheat to water potential. J Exp Bot 3:188

    Google Scholar 

  • Pena J, Grace J (1986) Water relations and ultrasound emissions of Pinus sylvestris L. before, during, and after a period of water stress. New Phytol 103:515

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawlins SL (1963) Resistance to water flow in the transpiration stream. Agric Exp Stn Bull 664, p 69

    Google Scholar 

  • Renner O (1912) Versuche zur Mechanik der Wasserversorgung. 2. Über Wurzeltätigkeit. Ber Dtsch Bot Ges 30:642

    Google Scholar 

  • Richards LA, Ogata G (1958) Thermocouple for vapor pressure measurement in biological and soil systems at high humidity. Science 128:1089

    Google Scholar 

  • Richards LA, Wadleigh CH (1952) Soil water and plant growth. In: Shaw BT (ed) Soil physical conditions and plant growth. Academic Press, New York, p 73

    Google Scholar 

  • Richards LA, Weaver LR (1944) Moisture retention by some irrigated soils as related to soil-moisture tension. J Agric Res 69:215

    Google Scholar 

  • Robins JS (1956) Moisture deficits in relation to the growth and development of dry beans. Agron J 48:67

    Google Scholar 

  • Scholander PF, Hammel HT, Hemmingsen EA, Bradstreet ED (1964) Hydrostatic pressure and osmotic potential in leaves of mangroves and some other plants. Proc Nat Acad Sci 52:119

    Google Scholar 

  • Scholander PF, Hammel HT, Bradstreet ED, Hemmingsen EA (1965) Sap pressure in vascular plants. Science 148:339

    Google Scholar 

  • Shmueli E (1953) Irrigation studies in the Jordan Valley. I. Physiological activity of the banana in relation to soil moisture. Bull Res Counc Isr 3:228

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinclair TR, Ludlow MM (1985) Who taught plants thermodynamics? The unfulfilled potential of plant water potential. Aust J Plant Physiol 12:213

    Google Scholar 

  • Slatyer RO (1957) The significance of the permanent wilting percentage in studies of plant and soil water relations. Bot Rev 23:585

    Google Scholar 

  • Slatyer RO (1967) Plant water relationships. Academic Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Slatyer RO, Taylor SA (1960) Terminology in plant and soil-water relations. Nature (London) 187:922

    Google Scholar 

  • Slavik B (1974) Methods of studying plant water relations. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York (Ecological Studies, vol 9)

    Google Scholar 

  • Spanner DC (1951) The Peltier effect and its use in the measurement of suction pressure. J Exp Bot 2:145

    Google Scholar 

  • Stalfelt MG (1932) Der stomatare Regulator in der pflanzlichen Transpiration. Planta 17:22

    Google Scholar 

  • Stocker O (1929) Das Wasserdefizit von Gefäßpflanzen in verschiedenen Klimazonen. Planta 7:382

    Google Scholar 

  • Tang PS, Wang JS (1941) A thermodynamic formulation of the water relations in an isolated living cell. J Phys Chem 45:443

    Google Scholar 

  • Thoday D (1918) On turgescence and the absorption of water by the cells of plants. New Phytol 17:108

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner NC (1981) Techniques and experimental approaches for the measurement of plant water stress. Plant Soil 58:339

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner NC (1986) Crop water deficits: a decade of progress. Adv Agron 39:1

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyree MT, Hammel HT (1972) The measurement of the turgor pressure and the water relations of plants by the pressure-bomb technique. J Exp Bot 23:267

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyree MT, Jarvis PG (1982) Water in tissues and cells. Encycl Plant Physiol new ser 12B:30. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyree MT, Dixon MA, Thompson RG (1984) Ultrasonic acoustic emissions from the sapwood of Thuja occidentalis measured inside a pressure bomb. Plant Physiol 74:1046

    Google Scholar 

  • Ursprung A, Blum G (1916) Zur Methode der Saugkraftmessung. Ber Dtsch Bot Ges 34:525

    Google Scholar 

  • Van den Honert TH (1948) Water transport as a catenary process. Faraday Discussion Chem Soc 3:146

    Google Scholar 

  • Veihmeyer FJ, Hendrickson AH (1928) Soil moisture at permanent wilting of plants. Plant Physiol 3:355

    Google Scholar 

  • Veihmeyer FJ, Hendrickson AH (1950) Soil moisture in relation to plant growth. Annu Rev Plant Physiol 1:285

    Google Scholar 

  • Walter H (1960) Einführung in die Phytologie, vol 3, part 1, 2nd edn. Ulmer, Stuttgart

    Google Scholar 

  • Weatherley PE (1950) Studies in the water relations of the cotton plant. I. The field measurement of water deficits in leaves. New Phytol 50:36

    Google Scholar 

  • Wenkert W (1980) Measurement of tissue osmotic pressure. Plant Physiol 65:614

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang J, Davies WJ (1986) Chemical and hydraulic influences on the stomata of flooded plants. J Exp Bot 37:1479

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kramer, P.J. Measurement of plant water status: Historical perspectives and current concerns. Irrig Sci 9, 275–287 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00296703

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00296703

Keywords

Navigation