Effects of exogenous abscisic acid and water stress on the growth response of subterranean clover of different genotypes

The response of subterranean clover ( Trifolium subterraneum L.) to different abscisic acid (ABA) concentrations ( 10(-6), 10(-5), 10(-4) mol/L) in nutrient solution and to water stress were studied in growth room, Six cultivars of contrasting yield capacity were compared. Plants remained growing in Hoagland solution or pots until at least four full-developed leaves appeared. The ABA was then applied and the fresh weight, leaf number and length of the largest root were measured at 1, 4, 7 and 11 d after ABA treatment. The above parameters were also measured at 15 d under water stress. In all the tested genotypes ABA caused similar reduction in these growth parameters, as well as a significant decrease of leaf water potential which was dependent on ABA concentration. The average growth reduction after 11 d under 10-4 mol/L ABA coincided with the range of these crops under water stress in pot experiments. On average of the different genotypes, leaf number, area of full-developed leaf and the dry weight per plant decreased by about 50% whereas the root/ shoot ratio increased by 80%. The genotype variation and ranking for this treatment were rather similar to the same genotypes in pot experiments. The genotypes, Clare, Nuba and Seaton Park, showed the best results under both control and ABA treated conditions and water stress conditions. The similarity between the response to ABA in nutrient solution and to water stress opens the possibility to use this approach as a way to quantify the drought resistance of subterranean clover genotypes.