For the first time, researchers have demonstrated in an intact plant a long-contested process that allows some plants to rebound from extended drought.
For the first time, researchers have demonstrated in an intact plant a long-contested process that allows some plants to rebound from extended drought. The team of Colorado State University, University of Colorado and U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists says understanding this special trait could improve agricultural productivity and food security.
Drought costs the United States billions in agricultural losses and increased irrigation. Lost productivity lowers food availability and raises prices for consumers.
When a plant dries out, its water transport system becomes impaired through the formation of gas bubble blockages, or embolisms, in the plant’s water-transporting tissues – xylem. Depending on the extent of embolism, some plants never recover.
Read more at: Colorado State University
USDA Agricultural Research Service scientist Sean Gleason uses a micro-CT scanner at CSU to study plants. The machine allows Gleason and his CSU collaborators to view internal plant processes non-destructively. (Photo Credit: John Eisele/CSU Photography)
