Wetting mechanism and morphological adaptation; leaf rolling enhancing atmospheric water acquisition in wheat crop—a review

Abstract

Several plant species such as grasses are dominant in many habitats including arid and semi-arid areas. These species survive in these regions by developing exclusive structures, which helps in the collection of atmospheric water. Before the collected water evaporates, these structures have unique canopy structure for water transportation that plays an equivalent share in the fog-harvesting mechanism. In this review, the atmospheric gaseous water harvesting mechanisms and their affinity of measurements were discussed. Morphological adaptations and their role in the capturing of atmospheric gaseous water of various species were also discussed. The key factor for the water collection and its conduction in the wheat plant is the information of contact angle hysteresis. In wheat, leaf rolling and its association with wetting property help the plant in water retention. Morphological adaptations, i.e., leaf erectness, grooves, and prickle hairs, also help in the collection and acquisition of water droplets by stem flows in directional guide toward the base of the plant and allow its rapid uptake. Morphological adaptation strengthens the harvesting mechanism by preventing the loss of water through shattering. Thus, wheat canopy architecture can be modified to harvest the atmospheric water and directional movement of water towards the root zone for self-irrigation. Moreover, these morphological adaptations are also linked with drought avoidance and corresponding physiological processes to resist water stress. The combination of these traits together with water use efficiency in wheat contributes to a highly efficient atmospheric water harvesting system that enables the wheat plants to reduce the cost of production. It also increases the yielding potential of the crop in arid and semi-arid environments. Further investigating the ecophysiology and molecular pathways of these morphological adaptations in wheat may have significant applications in varying climatic scenarios.

Evaluation of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes for drought tolerance using morpho-physiological traits under drought-stressed and well-watered conditions

“…[ 63 ] had reported that wheat leaf rolling and its association with leaf surface wetness helps the plant in water retention. In wheat, leaf rolling facilitates efficient photosynthetic activities and enhances accumulation of dry matter [ 64 , 65 ], lowers leaf surface temperature and reduces water loss by slowing down transpiration [ 66 ].…”

Leaf rolling and leaf angle improve fog capturing and transport in wheat; adaptation for drought stress in an arid climate

“…Leaf wetting has both positive and negative effects on plant growth and development. Wettability of the leaf surfaces can have a positive effect by supplying water through water absorption or transpiration suppression and improve plant water status (Eller et al 2013 ; Goldsmith et al 2013 ; Gotsch et al 2014 ; Ali et al 2022 ). Alternatively, negative effects inhibit leaf gas exchange, nutrients leaches, and promote pathogen growth on the leaf surfaces (Bradley et al 2003 ; Sase et al 2008 ).…”

The Use of Soil Conditioners to Ensure a Sustainable Wheat Yield under Water Deficit Conditions by Enhancing the Physiological and Antioxidant Potentials

“…Song et al [42] also found that drought stress at different critical growth stages caused severe losses to the plant growth and yield and its severity depended on the stage of growth at which it occurred. There are other previous studies on wheat crops related to soil, which showed a positive impact under drought and other climatic conditions [43][44][45][46][47]. There are numerous other studies under the same climatic conditions showing the confirmation that soil conditioning materials including biochar and soil conditioner improve the soil properties and are helpful for nitrogen uptake and water-related soil properties in different crops [48][49][50][51][52].…”