Growth and transpiration of maize and winter wheat in response to water deficits in pots and plots

▶ There was a significant reduction in shoot dry weight and total transpiration for plants in pots compared to those in plots. ▶ A parabolic relationship between shoot dry weight and total transpiration existed and was not influenced by soil volume or crop type. ▶ The plot experiment data for both crops was consistent with pot data for the response of transient and daily transpiration rates to changes in a decreasing fraction of available soil water, which was represented by a linear-plateau function. Pots used for experiments conducted on plants grown in them create rooting environments that are affected by limited soil volume, which can affect various physiological processes, including transpiration, and plant growth. However, the applicability of results from pot experiments to the field has received limited attention. The objective of this study was to compare the growth and transpiration of maize (Zea mays L.) and winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) when grown in pots and field plots under various constant water deficits. The experiments were conducted under similar environmental conditions for both pots and plots. Transpirational responses at both transient (RTTr) and daily (RDTr) time scales to a decreasing fraction of available soil water (FASW) were analyzed. For a comparable FASW, there was a significant reduction in shoot dry weight and total transpiration for plants in pots compared to those in plots. A parabolic relationship between shoot dry weight and total transpiration existed and was not influenced by soil volume or crop type. The plot experiment data for both crops was consistent with pot data for the response of RDTr and RTTr to changes in FASW, which was represented by a linear-plateau function. However, the threshold values were significantly different for the two time scales. The threshold values and slopes of the linear-plateau function for maize and wheat were not significantly different in the response of RTTr to FASW, but were significantly different in the response of RDTr to FASW. Therefore, the transpirational responses of the selected maize and winter wheat hybrids to soil drought were different at the daily and transient time scales.