Girdling changes root and shoot hormonal balance but does not alter drought-induced stomatal closure in soybean

To investigate the importance of shoot-to-root communication in modulating tissue phytohormone balance as the soil dries, root and leaf hormonal profiles were determined in soybean plants (Glycine max L. Merr. cv. Siverka) exposed to factorial girdling (achieved surgically on Day 0 by excising the phloem with a sharp razor blade thereby disrupting basipetal hormone transport) and soil drying treatments. Plants were randomized into 2 groups: girdled and intact plants, and each girdled group was further separated into two groups: well-watered and soil drying. Thus the experiment was a two (+/- girdling) x two (+/- soil drying) factorial experiment. Within 26 h while the soil was still moist, girdling increased root ACC (by 11-fold) and decreased root ABA concentrations (by 28 %), decreased foliar iP, tZ and GA3 concentrations (by up to 90 %), and increased foliar ABA and JA concentrations (by 1.6- and 4.9-fold respectively) compared to intact plants, but only leaf ABA concentration correlated with partial stomatal closure. Two days of soil drying increased root ABA and JA concentrations in intact plants, and both hormones significantly decreased in roots of girdled plants compared to intact plants. Soil drying increased foliar iP, ABA, JA and SA concentrations by 1.3-, 2.5-, 1.3- and 1.4-fold respectively compared to well-watered intact plants by the end of the experiment, but girdling prevented this foliar iP, ABA, JA accumulation compared to droughted intact plants. Thus, girdling affects the co-ordination of root and leaf phytohormone concentrations such as JA and ABA, which may transiently modulate stomatal closure. However, leaf ABA concentration varied consistently with root ABA concentration across all treatments, and explained more of the variation in stomatal conductance than any other hormone or leaf water potential.