Annual Water Status, Development, and Flowering Patterns for Rosmarinus officinalis Plants Under Different Irrigation Conditions

Abstract

<jats:p>The annual water status and phenological patterns of <jats:italic>Rosmarinus officinalis</jats:italic> plants in relation to irrigation were studied to improve the use of this species in gardening conditions. <jats:italic>Rosmarinus officinalis</jats:italic> seedlings were pot-grown for 4 months in the nursery. After this period, plants were transplanted to field conditions before three irrigation treatments were applied from Nov. 2000 to Dec. 2001 (control and deficit treatments: C, T-1 and T-2, respectively). The total amount of water applied by irrigation during the experimental period was 167 mm for control, 83.5 mm for T1 (50% of the control), and 50 mm for T-2 (30% to the control). Two main periods of vegetative growth (beginning of spring and fall) were observed in all treatments. At the end of the experimental period, deficit irrigation had altered the morphology of the <jats:italic>R. officinalis</jats:italic> plants, reducing plant height and shoot growth. Maximum flowering intensity occurred at the beginning of fall for all irrigation treatments. Deficit irrigation treatments induced a more intense flowering density, although of lower longevity than control plants. The annual pattern of shoot water potential at predawn reflected the irrigation regimes, although less difference resulting from irrigation effect was detected in this parameter at midday. Plants under deficit irrigation showed a conservative strategy in the use of water, reducing stomatal conductance. This finding may be of use for the successful gardening of <jats:italic>Rosmarinus officinalis</jats:italic> plants in semiarid conditions.</jats:p>

Influence of Water Regime Treatments on Growth of Rosmarinus Officinalis L. Plant

“…Cell growth is greatly affected by water stress, and thus growth decreases, which is reflected in the effect on the decrease in plant height. From the above, it is clear that the deficit of water affected the rosemary plant, and this was evident in reducing its height and the growth of shoots (Nicola´s et al, 2008). The previous results are in agreement with Leithy et al (2006), Bettaieb et al (2009), and Ekren et al (2012).…”

“…In this context, the content of chlorophyll is related to and affected by the lack of water, which shows that chlorophyll is related to the percentage of water in the leaves (Munne-Bosch and Alegre, 2000). Despite the studies that have been conducted and related to the different effects of irrigation on plant growth, it has been noted that they did not definitively explain the different effects of irrigation on the different growth stages of rosemary plants (Nicola´s et al, 2008). Therefore, this study was conducted to find out the effect of different water regimes (100, 70 and 50% field capacity) on the vegetative growth, chemical constituents and oil productivity of Rosmarinus officinalis L. plant.…”

Physiological parameters of desert truffle mycorrhizal Helianthemun almeriense plants cultivated in orchards under water deficit conditions

“…Flowering intensity was also similar at the end of the experimental period for both treatments ( Table 2), suggesting that water deficit does not lead to more intense flowering. According to several authors, water stress in many ornamental plants may affect the flowering process, resulting in higher flowering intensity (Sánchez-Blanco et al 1998;Nicolás et al 2008). A lower number of flowers per plant under severe drought conditions or this process may be unaffected under moderate water deficit conditions (Sánchez-Blanco et al 2009).…”

The Effect of Substrate Moisture Content on Growth and Physiological Responses of Two Landscape Roses (Rosa hybrida L.)

“…Due to decreasing water resources and increasing population and urbanization, water conservation and development of more efficient irrigation systems are critical in greenhouse and landscape water management (Nicolas et al, 2008;Niu et al, 2006a). Additionally, many crops are overirrigated in greenhouse production, which results in runoff and leaching of water and nutrients from the greenhouse into the environment.…”