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Home → Publications → Evaluating Seedling Quality: Principles, Procedures, and Predictive Abilities of Major Tests → 03: Techniques for determining seedling water status and their effectiveness in assessing stress

03: Techniques for determining seedling water status and their effectiveness in assessing stress

Three basic characteristics describe plant water status: (i) water content relative to that at full saturation, (ii) energy status of water in the cells, and (iii) osmotic potential. Techniques for measuring these parameters are assessed with regard to their relative ease of use, reliability, requirements in time and material, and value in predicting seedling performance. Standards for assessing plant water status are defined. Preliminary results of a study detecting membrane damage in shoots by measurement of the osmotic potential of expressed sap indicate that the technique may be used to detect the loss of membrane integrity caused by severe temperature stress.


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Author(s): Robert J. Joly

Publication: Evaluating Seedling Quality: Principles, Procedures, and Predictive Abilities of Major Tests