Effects of pathogen infection and inoculation on instantaneous and long-term water use efficiency of peanut with and without drought.

INTRODUCTION

Water Use Efficiency (WUE) is one of the critical indicators to characterize plant adaptation to arid environments, however, the effects of pathogens infection and symbiosis on WUE are not considered in contexts of water stress.

METHODS

A study was conducted in a greenhouse pot to examine the effects of changed soil water conditions on instantaneous Water Use Efficiency (WUE) and long-term Water Use Efficiency (WUE) under inoculation , inoculation sp., and co-inoculation and sp.

RESULTS

The results showed that inoculation sp. and co-inoculation and sp. reduced WUE by increasing net photosynthetic rate without drought. Inoculation sp. and co-inoculation and sp. reduced WUE by decreasing plant height with drought. Inoculation and sp. significantly reduced WUE by lowering intercellular CO concentration without drought. Inoculation reduced WUE by increasing root nodule number with drought. In contrast, drought had no effect on either WUE or WUE without inoculation.

DISCUSSION

The results suggest that sp. infection is detrimental to instantaneous Water Use Efficiency while inoculation is unfavorable to long-term Water Use Efficiency, regardless of drought effects. Our findings provide a new insight for developing effective water use strategies after pathogen infection or symbiosis under increased precipitation scenarios.