Importance of water consumption for calcium nutrition of trees.

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Importance of water consumption for calcium nutrition

of trees.

A. Vigouroux, Claude Bussi, J.F. Berger

To cite this version:

A. Vigouroux, Claude Bussi, J.F. Berger. Importance of water consumption for calcium nutrition of

trees.. Annales des sciences forestières, INRA/EDP Sciences, 1989, 46 (suppl.), pp.369s-371s.

�hal-02718655�

Importance

of

water

_consumption

for calcium

nutrition of

trees

A.

_Vigouroux

C. Bussi

2

J.F.

_Berger

₁

1

INRA,

Botanique

et

_{Pathologie V6g6tale-ENSA,}

34060 _Montpellier Cedex, and

2

1NRA, SRIV, Domaine-de-Gotheron, 26320 St-Marcel-les-Valence, France

Introduction

Because of the

_relationship

between

peach

tree

_{susceptibility}

to a bacterial

die-back and the

_edaphic

conditions of the

orchards

(Vigouroux

and

_{Huguet, 1977),}

it is necessary to

_specify

the effect of the

tree’s calcium nutrition on this

_{relationship.}

An initial

_{profile analysis}

in acid

predis-posing

soils

_suggested

several factors

inducing

an

_inability

to

_provide

an

ade-quate

water

_supply

that

_might

result in a

predisposing

effect on the trees to

bacterial dieback.

_Preliminary

_experiments

were then conducted in

_{large weighable}

containers to confirm and

_quantify

these

observations. Results indicated a marked effect of water

_consumption

on tree

cal-cium nutrition

_(Vigouroux

et al.,

_1987).

Unfortunately,

in these

_preliminary

ex-periments,

trees were

_irrigated

with

_tap

water which was found to be calcareous.

Thus,

it was _necessary to determine the

respective

role of water and calcium

avail-ability

in the variations of the calcium

content of the trees. _{For this purpose,} a new

_experiment

was undertaken with the

same acid soil and the same container

culture conditions but

_using

2 treatments:

calcareous and demineralized water, each

applied

at 2 levels of

_irrigation.

Limed and natural soils were also

_compared

to

esti-mate the effect of an increase of the

avail-ability

of calcium in the soil. _{This paper} reports the results.

Materials and Methods

Peach tree scions _{(Prunus persica} L. Batch, cv

May-Crest on GF 305 rootstock) were cultivated

for 1 yr, each one in a 250 1 container filled with

acid soil. The soil was a

_pebbly

_{loamy sandy}

material

_originating

from the 0-30 cm horizon of the old

_{fluvial-glacial}

RISS terrace of the Rhone

valley (Bornand, 1978). Water

_pH

was 6.0 (for

detailed characteristics see _Vigouroux et al.,

1987).

Irrigation

was _{provided by} 4

_parallel

pipe cir-cuits that delivered both kinds of water, each at 2 levels. The 1st level

_corresponded

to MET

(maximum

evapotranspiration)

and the 2nd was

adjusted to 70% of MET to induce slight water stress.

_Irrigation

level treatments were

_applied

only from early

July

to avoid differences

be-tween tree

_development

_according

to

treat-ments. As noted

previously,

the calcareous water was the

_city

_tap water

_containing

120 _mg of Call and the demineralized water was deion-ized by a large resin device

(Sadon

Co., Demino 5000 model). One gram of

CaO/kg

of soil was added to the soil to be amended.

There were 6 treatments: 2

_irrigation

levels

supplied

with calcareous water on the control soil or

_supplied

with deionized water on the control and on the limed soil. For each

treat-ment, 12 trees were used; each one was

ana-lyzed separately.

The effect of the treatment on the total cal-cium content of the tree tissues was estimated

by the mineral _analysis of

_twig

bark _(the tissue in which develops Pseudomonas

_syringae

_pv

persicae, the infectious _agent of the studied

disease). For each tree, 14 small

_twigs,

well

spread on the crown

_(Cummings,

_1973), were

sampled

for _analysis in _early December. After

removing the bark and

_drying,

calcium content was determined

_by

flame

_photometry.

Results

Mean values of the

_twig

calcium contents

are

_presented

in Table I. Under all

condi-tions

tested,

higher irrigation

and water

consumption

were associated with a

signi-ficant and clear-cut increase of the

cal-cium content. In

_comparison,

both kinds of

calcium

_supply

induced no noticeable

variation of the content. At the low level

of

_irrigation,

a

_{significatively}

lower Ca

content was noted with the calcareous

water

_compared

with deionized water in acid soil but this result is to be associated

to a

_{slight failing}

of the

_irrigation

device which

_delivered,

for the low level of

cal-careous water, a smaller amount of water than

_planned.

Iln

fact,

this accidental effect further confirms the

_general

result.

Discussion and Conclusion

As

_already

established for various

_plants

(Epstein,

1972;

Bangerth,

1979;

Kirkby,

1979; Clarkson and

Hanson,

1980),

water flow associated with water

_consumption

appears to have a dramatic influence on

uptake

and

_{transportation}

of calcium to

the

_top

of trees, like

peach, independently

of the available amount of this cation in

the soil solution

_(above

some minimum

threshold).

Some observations in

_experimental

plots

in an _{open field confirm these results}

obtained with container material. We also think that this is

_probably

true for _all spe-cies

_including

forest trees, and this

sug-gests

important

indirect effects of

drought

on a tree’s

_development

and survival because of the!

_importance

of calcium for

physiological

processes,

including

References

Bangerth

B. ₍₁₉₇₉₎ Calcium-related

physiologi-cal disorders of _plants. Annu. Rev.

Phytopa-thol. 17, 97-112 2

Bornand M. ₍₁₉₇₈₎ Alteration des materiaux

flu-vio-glaciaires;

gen6se et 6volution des sols sur

terrasses

_quaternaires

dans la _moyenne vall6e du Rhone. Ph.D. Thesis, Université des

Sciences et

_Techniques

du

_Languedoc,

Mont-pellier

Clarkson D.T. & Hanson J.B.

₍₁₉₈₀₎

The min-eral nutrition of

_{higher plants.}

Annu. Rev. Plant

PhysioL

31, 239-298

Cummings

G.A.

₍₁₉₇₃₎

The distribution of

ele-ments in ’Elberta’

_peach

tree tissues and the

infuence of

_potassium

and magnesium fertiliza-tion. J. Am. Soc. Hortic. Sci. 98, 474-477

Epstein

E. ₍₁₉₇₂₎ In: Mineral Nutrition of Plants:

_Principales

and Perspectives. John

Willey

& Sons, New York, pp. 412 2

Kirkby

E.A.

_{(1979) Maximizing}

calcium

_uptake

by plants.

Commun. Soil. Sci. Plant Anal. 10, 89-113 3

Vigouroux

A. &

_Huguet

C.

₍₁₉₇₇₎

Influence du

substrat de culture sur la sensibilit6 du

_p

_g

_cher

au

_{d6p6rissement}

bact6rien. C.R. Acad.

Agric.

Fr. 63, 1095-1103

Vigouroux

A.,

Berger

J.F. & Bussi C.

(1987)

La

sensibilit6 du

pecher

au

_{d6p6rissement}

bact6-rien en France: incidence de certaines

caract6-ristiques

du sol et de

_{l’irrigation.}

Relation avec