A Study of the Stationary Volumetric Elastic Modulus during Dehydration and Rehydration of Stems of Pea Seedlings

The relationship between cortical-cell turgor pressure (P) and tissue water mass (W) was determined for stem segments of pea (Pisum sativum L.) seedlings subjected to hydration and dehydration. This allowed a test for elastic hysteresis in the cortical cells. The P-W curves for dehydration and hydration were not coincident. In some experiments, the P-W curves exhibited a "roll-off" at high P, similar to the "plateau effect" sometimes observed in pressure-chamber studies. When hydration was followed by a 4-h dehydration, the tissue water mass (W0) at minimum turgor was reduced. This might reflect a reduction in apoplastic water mass and/or a contraction of the symplast during dehydration. Neglecting the decrease in W0 leads to underestimates of the stationary volumetric elastic modulus ([epsilon]stat). The result of an analysis that assumes W0 was constant during hydration suggests that there was no significant difference in [epsilon]stat between dehydration and hydration and, hence, no significant elastic hysteresis. However, a 16-h dehydration increased [epsilon]stat; this might be a response to water stress.