Bio-Inspired Rhamnolipids, Cyclic Lipopeptides and a Chito-Oligosaccharide Confer Protection against Wheat Powdery Mildew and Inhibit Conidia Germination.

Plant protection is mainly based on the application of synthetic pesticides to limit yield losses resulting from diseases. However, the use of more eco-friendly strategies for sustainable plant protection has become a necessity that could contribute to controlling pathogens through a direct antimicrobial effect and/or an induction of plant resistance. Three different families of natural or bioinspired compounds originated from bacterial or fungal strains have been evaluated to protect wheat against powdery mildew, caused by the biotrophic f.

Increased contribution of wheat nocturnal transpiration to daily water use under drought.

Increasing evidence suggests that in crops, nocturnal water use could represent 30% of daytime water consumption, particularly in semi-arid and arid areas. This raises the questions of whether nocturnal transpiration rates (TR ) are (1) less influenced by drought than daytime TR (TR ), (2) increased by higher nocturnal vapor pressure deficit (VPD ), which prevails in such environments and (3) involved in crop drought tolerance. In this investigation, we addressed those questions by subjecting two wheat genotypes differing in drought tolerance to progressive soil drying under two long-term VPD regimes imposed under naturally fluctuating conditions.

Nighttime evaporative demand induces plasticity in leaf and root hydraulic traits.

Increasing evidence suggests that nocturnal transpiration rate (TR ) is a non-negligible contributor to global water cycles. Short-term variation in nocturnal vapor pressure deficit (VPD ) has been suggested to be a key environmental variable influencing TR . However, the long-term effects of VPD on plant growth and development remain unknown, despite recent evidence documenting long-term effects of daytime VPD on plant anatomy, growth and productivity.

High resolution mapping of traits related to whole-plant transpiration under increasing evaporative demand in wheat.

Atmospheric vapor pressure deficit (VPD) is a key component of drought and has a strong influence on yields. Whole-plant transpiration rate (TR) response to increasing VPD has been linked to drought tolerance in wheat, but because of its challenging phenotyping, its genetic basis remains unexplored. Further, the genetic control of other key traits linked to daytime TR such as leaf area, stomata densities and - more recently - nocturnal transpiration remains unknown.

Genotype-dependent influence of night-time vapour pressure deficit on night-time transpiration and daytime gas exchange in wheat.

In crop plants, accumulating evidence indicates non-marginal night-time transpiration (TRNight) that is responsive to environmental conditions, especially in semiarid areas. However, the agronomical advantages resulting from such phenomenon remain obscure. Recently, drought-tolerance strategies directly stemming from daytime TR (TRDay) responses to daytime vapour pressure deficit VPD (VPDDay) were identified in wheat (Triticum spp.