A low-cost protocol for the optical method of vulnerability curves to calculate P 50 .

Abstract

Premise The quantification of plant drought resistance, particularly embolism formation, within and across species, is critical for ecosystem management and agriculture. We developed a cost-effective protocol to measure the water potential at which 50% of hydraulic conductivity ( P 50 ) is lost in stems, using affordable and accessible materials in comparison to the traditional optical method. Methods and results Our protocol uses inexpensive USB microscopes, which are secured along with the plants to a pegboard base to avoid movement. A Python program automatized the image acquisition. This method was applied to quantify P 50 in an exotic species ( Nicotiana glauca ) and native species ( Rhus integrifolia ) of the Mediterranean vegetation in Baja California, Mexico. Conclusions The intra- and interspecific patterns of variation in stem P 50 of N. glauca and R. integrifolia were obtained using the low-cost optical method with widely available and affordable materials that can be easily replicated for other species.

Plant phenotyping relevance

植物の茎の水理的脆弱性（P50）を測定する低コスト光学プロトコルを開発し、USB顕微鏡とPythonによる画像取得を用いて適用・検証しており、表現型取得法が研究の中心である。

Code and data availability

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