Growth, shoot water relations and root hydraulic conductivity were
studied in tomato plants
(Lycopersicon esculentum cv. INCA9) subjected to different salt
concentrations in the root medium.
Two experiments were carried out at Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Agrícolas
(INCA), Cuba, during
May and June 1995. In the first experiment, plants were grown for 13 days in a
nutrient solution with
0 or 100 mM NaCl. In the second experiment, the hydraulic conductivity
was measured on roots
submerged in nine different concentrations of NaCl up to 200 mM. The
effect of temperature
treatments between 0 and 50 °C on root hydraulic conductivity was also examined.
Shoot growth, leaf
water potential, leaf stomatal conductance, leaf relative water content and
root hydraulic conductivity
values decreased more rapidly in the treated plants than in control plants. A
strong correlation was
found between the root hydraulic conductivity and leaf water parameters, indicating
that water flow
through the roots was the main factor controlling shoot water relations.