TY  - EJOU
AU  - Kalaitzidis, Argyrios 
AU  - Zotou, Anastasia 
AU  - Loka, Dimitra 
AU  - Mpeza, Paraskevi 
AU  - Archimandriti, Persephone 
AU  - Korres, Nicholas E. 

TI  - Effects of Water Stress on the Morpho-Physiological Characteristics of <i>Gossypium hirsutum</i> (Cotton) and <i>Abutilon theophrasti</i> (Velvetleaf)
T2  - Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany

PY  - 
VL  - 
IS  - 
SN  - 1851-5657

AB  - The effects of water stress on the morphophysiological and biochemical characteristics of cotton (<i>Gossypium hirsutum</i> L.) and velvetleaf (<i>Abutilon theophrasti</i>) were investigated in a pot experiment under greenhouse conditions. Both species were exposed to four irrigation levels: no stress (1000 mL H<sub>2</sub>O), mild stress (800 mL H<sub>2</sub>O), moderate stress (600 mL H<sub>2</sub>O), and severe stress (400 mL H<sub>2</sub>O), with treatments applied every 2 days over a period of eight weeks. The results demonstrated the negative impacts of water stress, especially under moderate and severe conditions. Specifically, there was a reduction in height and dry weight in both species, with cotton plants exhibiting greater reductions, ranging from 9–38.6% in height and 40.1–62.1% in dry weight. Compared to the control, velvetleaf responded to water stress more mildly, with reductions in height and dry weight ranging from 3–19.3% and 7–44.3%, respectively. A 2.5- and 2-fold reduction in the root dry weight was also recorded for cotton and velvetleaf, respectively. Chlorophyll content in severely stressed cotton plants (400 mL) decreased by ~45% compared to initial values, while velvetleaf maintained relatively stable chlorophyll concentrations across all irrigation treatments. Notably, severely stressed velvetleaf plants resorted to leaf abscission at the fourth week after treatment (WAT). Finally, an increase in proline and total phenolic content was observed as a response to water stress. Specifically, proline increased by ~505% in cotton (WAT 6) and ~567% in velvetleaf (WAT 4). Total phenolics peaked at WAT 3, with increases of ~145% and ~120% in cotton and velvetleaf, respectively, before subsequently declining by ~75% in cotton and ~58% in velvetleaf.
KW  - Abiotic stress; antioxidants; chlorophyll; total phenolics; proline; biomass; growth stage

DO  - 10.32604/phyton.2026.081379