Krisztina Molnár

Defence Strategies of Annual Plants Against Drought

Eszter Nemeskeri1, Krisztina Molnar2, Robert Vig3, Attila Dobos3 and Janos Nagy2 1Research Institute and Model Farms, Center of Agricultural Sciences and Engineering, University of Debrecen 2Institute for Land Utilisation, Technology and Regional Development, Center of Agricultural Sciences and Engineering, University of Debrecen 3Hungarian Academy of Sciences University of Debrecen Research Group of Cultivation and Regional Development Hungary

Effect of water supply on the water use-related physiological traits and yield of snap beans in dry seasons

Four snap bean varieties (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) with different pod type were grown under three water supply conditions (well-irrigated, water deficit, non-irrigated) to examine the stomatal resistance, stomatal density and leaf area index (LAI) and their relationship with the yield. The highest stomatal resistance of the leaves and the smallest LAI and harvest index concerning the pods were measured under non-irrigated growing conditions. During flowering and pod development, significant differences were found in stomatal density on both leaf surfaces between the green-podded and yellow-podded varieties under water deficiency. Under non-irrigated conditions, stomatal resistance measured during flowering had a large effect mainly on the individual pod yield. Under these conditions, close significant correlations were found between stomatal resistance and LAI and water use (WUc) during the generative period of plants and the pod weight per plant. Under moderate water deficiency, the stomatal resistance, adaxial stomatal density of the leaves, and LAI were more effective to evaluate the difference in the productivity of snap bean genotypes than those measurements in severe drought. WUc-related traits can be used for the selection of bean genotypes adapted to drought, while the difference in water use efficiency (WUEy) between the snap bean varieties is suitable to evaluate their productivity under deficit irrigation.

Relationships of spectral traits with yield and nutritional quality of snap beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in dry seasons

ABSTRACT Four snap bean varieties (green and yellow-podded) were grown in three water supplies (regularly irrigated, deficit-irrigated and non-irrigated) in order to examine the spectral reflectance at leaf and canopy levels, leaf area index (LAI) and their relationships with the yield and nutritional quality at the University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary from 2011 to 2013. Under non-irrigated condition, the plant height decreased, SPAD values were high but LAI and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were low. The difference in SPAD values was higher between the varieties during flowering under non-irrigated condition and it was more pronounced during pod development using deficit irrigation. In dry years, non-irrigated condition SPAD did not correlate with the yield but during pod development it was correlated with the dry matter content of the pods. The relationship of SPAD with protein and crude fiber content of pods was strongly dependent on the cropping years. Under deficit-irrigated condition, NDVI measured during flowering and pod development correlated closely with the yield where a higher NDVI (0.85) predicted either 6 or 9.5 t ha−1 of yield depending on the variety. Under this condition Serengeti variety with green pods was prominent based on the studied traits among the varieties.