Soil Moisture Levels Affect the Anatomy and Mechanical Properties of Basil Stems (<i>Ocimum basilicum</i> L.)
As plants would benefit from adjusting and optimizing their architecture to changing environmental stimuli, ensuring a strong and healthy plant, it was hypothesized that different soil moisture levels would affect xylem and collenchyma development in basil (<i>Ocimum basilicum</i> L. cv....
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doaj-09bcac056aef4f7e912738eb75f2a1162021-07-23T14:01:31ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472021-06-01101320132010.3390/plants10071320Soil Moisture Levels Affect the Anatomy and Mechanical Properties of Basil Stems (<i>Ocimum basilicum</i> L.)Elisa Driesen0Maurice De Proft1Wouter Saeys2Department of Biosystems, KU Leuven, Willem de Croylaan 42, 3001 Leuven, BelgiumDepartment of Biosystems, KU Leuven, Willem de Croylaan 42, 3001 Leuven, BelgiumDepartment of Biosystems, KU Leuven, Willem de Croylaan 42, 3001 Leuven, BelgiumAs plants would benefit from adjusting and optimizing their architecture to changing environmental stimuli, ensuring a strong and healthy plant, it was hypothesized that different soil moisture levels would affect xylem and collenchyma development in basil (<i>Ocimum basilicum</i> L. cv. Marian) stems. Four different irrigation set-points (20, 30, 40 and 50% VWC), corresponding respectively to pF values of 1.95, 1.65, 1.30 and 1.15, were applied. Basil plants grown near the theoretical wilting point (pF 2) had a higher xylem vessel frequency and lower mean vessel diameter, promoting water transport under drought conditions. Cultivation at low soil moisture also impacted the formation of collenchyma in the apical stem segments, providing mechanical and structural support to these fast-growing stems and vascular tissues. The proportion of collenchyma area was significantly lower for the pF1.15 treatment (9.25 ± 3.24%) compared to the pF1.95 and pF1.30 treatments (16.04 ± 1.83% and 13.28 ± 1.38%, respectively). Higher fractions of collenchyma resulted in a higher mechanical stem strength against bending. Additionally, tracheids acted as the major support tissues in the basal stem segments. These results confirm that the available soil moisture impacts mechanical stem strength and overall plant quality of basil plants by impacting xylem and collenchyma development during cultivation, ensuring sufficient mechanical support to the fast-growing stem and to the protection of the vascular tissues. To our knowledge, this study is the first to compare the mechanical and anatomical characteristics of plant stems cultivated at different soil moisture levels.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/7/1320irrigationmechanical propertiesstem anatomyflexural modulusflexural strengthxylem |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Elisa Driesen Maurice De Proft Wouter Saeys |
spellingShingle |
Elisa Driesen Maurice De Proft Wouter Saeys Soil Moisture Levels Affect the Anatomy and Mechanical Properties of Basil Stems (<i>Ocimum basilicum</i> L.) Plants irrigation mechanical properties stem anatomy flexural modulus flexural strength xylem |
author_facet |
Elisa Driesen Maurice De Proft Wouter Saeys |
author_sort |
Elisa Driesen |
title |
Soil Moisture Levels Affect the Anatomy and Mechanical Properties of Basil Stems (<i>Ocimum basilicum</i> L.) |
title_short |
Soil Moisture Levels Affect the Anatomy and Mechanical Properties of Basil Stems (<i>Ocimum basilicum</i> L.) |
title_full |
Soil Moisture Levels Affect the Anatomy and Mechanical Properties of Basil Stems (<i>Ocimum basilicum</i> L.) |
title_fullStr |
Soil Moisture Levels Affect the Anatomy and Mechanical Properties of Basil Stems (<i>Ocimum basilicum</i> L.) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Soil Moisture Levels Affect the Anatomy and Mechanical Properties of Basil Stems (<i>Ocimum basilicum</i> L.) |
title_sort |
soil moisture levels affect the anatomy and mechanical properties of basil stems (<i>ocimum basilicum</i> l.) |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Plants |
issn |
2223-7747 |
publishDate |
2021-06-01 |
description |
As plants would benefit from adjusting and optimizing their architecture to changing environmental stimuli, ensuring a strong and healthy plant, it was hypothesized that different soil moisture levels would affect xylem and collenchyma development in basil (<i>Ocimum basilicum</i> L. cv. Marian) stems. Four different irrigation set-points (20, 30, 40 and 50% VWC), corresponding respectively to pF values of 1.95, 1.65, 1.30 and 1.15, were applied. Basil plants grown near the theoretical wilting point (pF 2) had a higher xylem vessel frequency and lower mean vessel diameter, promoting water transport under drought conditions. Cultivation at low soil moisture also impacted the formation of collenchyma in the apical stem segments, providing mechanical and structural support to these fast-growing stems and vascular tissues. The proportion of collenchyma area was significantly lower for the pF1.15 treatment (9.25 ± 3.24%) compared to the pF1.95 and pF1.30 treatments (16.04 ± 1.83% and 13.28 ± 1.38%, respectively). Higher fractions of collenchyma resulted in a higher mechanical stem strength against bending. Additionally, tracheids acted as the major support tissues in the basal stem segments. These results confirm that the available soil moisture impacts mechanical stem strength and overall plant quality of basil plants by impacting xylem and collenchyma development during cultivation, ensuring sufficient mechanical support to the fast-growing stem and to the protection of the vascular tissues. To our knowledge, this study is the first to compare the mechanical and anatomical characteristics of plant stems cultivated at different soil moisture levels. |
topic |
irrigation mechanical properties stem anatomy flexural modulus flexural strength xylem |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/7/1320 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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