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Tissue osmotic potential(Ψ π ) and solute constituents were evaluated in leaves and roots of well-watered and water-stressed Prunus avium L. × pseudocerasus Lindl. `Colt' and Prunus cerasus L. `Meteor'. Osmotic potential at full turgorΨ π,sat decreased in response to water stress for leaves and roots of both cultivars. For `Colt', a cultivar with an indeterminate growth habit,Ψ π,sat decreased by 0.56 MPa and 0.38 MPa for terminal expanding leaves and older expanded leaves, respectively. For `Meteor', a cultivar with a determinate growth habit,Ψ π,sat decreased by ≈0.47 MPa in both terminal and older leaves. RootΨ π,sat was alike for both cultivars and showed a similar decrease of 0.20 MPa in response to water stress. Roots had considerably higherΨ π,sat than did leaves in both cultivars, irrespective of irrigation treatment. Soluble carbohydrates and potassium (K + ) were the major solute constituents in both cultivars. Of the soluble carbohydrates, sorbitol was found in the greatest concentration and accounted for the bulk of water stress-induced solute accumulation in both cultivars. Regardless of the irrigation treatment, mature leaves of `Meteor' consistently had lowerΨ π,sat (typically 0.4 MPa) than `Colt'. This variation in Ψ π,sat between Prunus cultivars suggests the potential for selection of cultivars with low Ψ π,sat and possibly superior drought resistance.
Ranney et al. (Mon,) studied this question.