Proline Concentrations in Water Stressed Grasses

Abstract

This study was conducted to screen several warm- and cool-season grasses for their proline-accumulating ability under water stressed conditions in the growth chamber. Plants of Old World bluestems (Bothriochloa spp.), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea), western wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii) and weeping lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) were subjected to water stress conditions at the vegetative stage. Water stressed plants exhibited a significantly greater (P<.05) increase in proline concentration than the non-stressed and the stress relieved plants. There was also a significant difference (P<.01) in the proline-accumulating ability of various species. An interdependency was observed between leaf water potential and proline concentration in all the species under water-stressed conditions.