水分亏缺下紫花苜蓿和高粱根系水力学导度 与水分利用效率的关系

利用聚乙二醇(PEG-6000)模拟水分亏缺条件(胁迫水势-0.2MPa,胁迫48h),研究了变水条件下紫花苜蓿(品种:阿尔冈金和陇东)和高粱(品种:抗四)根系水力学导度(Lp_r)、根系活力、根叶相对含水量、水分利用效率等参数的动态变化,以期进一步明确植物水分吸收及散失过程调控的生理生态学基础。结果表明:水分亏缺限制了紫花苜蓿和高粱根系吸水,表现在Lp_r的下降和根系活力的降低;继而调控了其地上部反应,引起气孔导度、光合速率、叶片相对含水量和蒸腾速率等的下降,但限制性的提高了其水分利用效率,尤其在胁迫初期。恢复到正常供水条件后,Lp_r、根系活性、气孔导度等水分利用参数逐渐部分或完全恢复到了胁迫前水平,但恢复程度存在种间和品种间差异,并且根系吸水能力的恢复对于是植株地上部生长状态的恢复至关重要,尤其是水分恢复初期。紫花苜蓿根系中检测到水通道蛋白(AQPs)的存在,水分亏缺对紫花苜蓿Lp_r的影响认为主要是通过影响AQPs的活性实现的。比较紫花苜蓿和高粱水分吸收与利用状况在变水条件下的动态变化,认为紫花苜蓿幼苗对干旱逆境的适应能力相对弱于高粱,品种间陇东适应能力更强。     

The effect of atmospheric humidity on photosynthesis,transpiration and water use efficiency of leaves of several plant species

The effect of humidity on the gas exchange of leaves of the dicotyledons soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill), sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis (L.) Schneider), and saltbush (Atriplex halimus L.) and the monocotyledons wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) and barnyard grass (Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv.) was examined under conditions of adequate soil moisture in a controlled environment. Photosynthesis and stomatal and internal diffusion resistances of whole, attached, single leaves were not affected by changes in humidity as the vapour pressure deficit between the leaf and atmosphere ranged from 8 to 27 mb. Transpiration increased linearly with increasing vapour pressure deficit. Whole plants of barley exhibited a different response. As humidity was increased, photosynthesis increased, transpiration expressed per unit of vapour pressure difference increased, and diffusion resistances became smaller. Reasons for the different behaviour of single leaves and whole plants are suggested. An index for water use efficiency, expressed per millibar of vapour pressure deficit, was calculated for single leaves of each species used in the experiments. This showed that water use efficiency was highest in the C₄ xerophytes and lowest in the C₃ mesophytes. The effect of environment on water use efficiency is examined using data from the literature.     

Genetic engineering of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) with the P5CSF129A gene for osmoregulation with implications on drought tolerance

Abiotic stresses including water deficit severely limits crop yields in the semi-arid tropics. In chickpea, annual losses of over 3.7 million tones have been estimated to be due to water deficit conditions alone. Therefore, major efforts are needed to improve its tolerance to water deficit, and genetic engineering approaches provide an increasing hope for this possibility. We have used transgenic technology for the introduction of an osmoregulatory gene P5CSF129A encoding the mutagenized Δ¹-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase (P5CS) for the overproduction of proline. A total of 49 transgenic events of chickpea were produced with the 35S:P5CSF129A gene through Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated gene transfer through the use of axillary meristem explants. Eleven transgenic events that accumulated high proline (2–6 folds) were further evaluated in greenhouse experiments based on their transpiration efficiency (TE), photosynthetic activity, stomatal conductance, and root length under water stress. Almost all the transgenic events showed a decline in transpiration at lower values of the fraction of transpirable soil water (dryer soil), and extracted more water than their untransformed parents. The accumulation of proline in the selected events was more pronounced that increased significantly in the leaves when exposed to water stress. However, the overexpression of P5CSF129A gene resulted only in a modest increase in TE, thereby indicating that the enhanced proline had little bearing on the components of yield architecture that are significant in overcoming the negative effects of drought stress in chickpea.     

Agrobacterium-mediated sorghum transformation

Agrobacterium tumefaciens was used to genetically transform sorghum. Immature embryos of a public (P898012) and a commercial line (PHI391) of sorghum were used as the target explants. The Agrobacterium strain used was LBA4404 carrying a `Super-binary' vector with a bar gene as a selectable marker for herbicide resistance in the plant cells. A series of parameter tests was used to establish a baseline for conditions to be used in stable transformation experiments. A number of different transformation conditions were tested and a total of 131 stably transformed events were produced from 6175 embryos in these two sorghum lines. Statistical analysis showed that the source of the embryos had a very significant impact on transformation efficiency, with field-grown embryos producing a higher transformation frequency than greenhouse-grown embryos. Southern blot analysis of DNA from leaf tissues of T₀ plants confirmed the integration of the T-DNA into the sorghum genome. Mendelian segregation in the T₁ generation was confirmed by herbicide resistance screening. This is the first report of successful use of Agrobacterium for production of stably transformed sorghum plants. The Agrobacterium method we used yields a higher frequency of stable transformation that other methods reported previously.     

Compensating effect of fulvic acid and super-absorbent polymer on leaf gas exchange and water use efficiency of maize under moderate water deficit conditions

A field-based pot experiment with maize plants was conducted to examine the effect of combined fulvic acid (FA) and super-absorbent polymer (SAP) on leaf gas exchange, water use efficiency, and grain yield under soil water deficit. SAP (45 kg hm^?2) was applied to the topsoil at sowing. Plants were well-watered (80% field capacity), but subjected to water deficit (50% field capacity) from tassel stage to grain-fill. FA solution (2 g L^?1) was sprayed onto plant leaves at 2 and 9 days after imposing water deficit. Under water deficit, SAP and FA application did not affect evapotranspiration, but increased leaf abscisic acid and decreased leaf transpiration rate with a little change in photosynthesis, thus improving instantaneous water use efficiency. Applying SAP and FA under water deficit also increased grain yield by 19% and grain water use efficiency by 24%, largely attributed to an increase in kernel number. In contrast, under well-watered condition the two chemicals increased stomatal conductance, leaf transpiration, photosynthesis and chlorophyll content, but did not change kernel number and were relatively less effective in respect to water use efficiency compared to water-stressed condition. This study showed that application of foliar FA and soil SAP had little effect on evapotranspiration but maintained high photosynthesis and kernel number, and improved water use efficiency under soil water deficit.     

Grain sorghum is a viable feedstock for ethanol production

Sorghum is a major cereal crop in the USA. However, sorghum has been underutilized as a renewable feedstock for bioenergy. The goal of this research was to improve the bioconversion efficiency for biofuels and biobased products from processed sorghum. The main focus was to understand the relationship among “genetics–structure–function–conversion” and the key factors impacting ethanol production, as well as to develop an energy life cycle analysis model (ELCAM) to quantify and prioritize the saving potential from factors identified in this research. Genetic lines with extremely high and low ethanol fermentation efficiency and some specific attributes that may be manipulated to improve the bioconversion rate of sorghum were identified. In general, ethanol yield increased as starch content increased. However, no linear relationship between starch content and fermentation efficiency was found. Key factors affecting the ethanol fermentation efficiency of sorghum include protein digestibility, level of extractable proteins, protein and starch interaction, mash viscosity, amount of phenolic compounds, ratio of amylose to amylopectin, and formation of amylose-lipid complexes in the mash. A platform ELCAM with a base case showed a positive net energy value (NEV) = 25,500 Btu/gal EtOH. ELCAM cases were used to identify factors that most impact sorghum use. For example, a yield increase of 40 bu/ac resulted in NEV increasing from 7 million to 12 million Btu/ac. An 8% increase in starch provided an incremental 1.2 million Btu/ac. JIMB-2008: BioEnergy-Special issue.     

Chemical and isotopic markers detect water deficit and its influence on nutrient allocation in Phaseolus vulgaris

The impact of drought on plant growth and yield has been widely studied and is considered a major limitation to crops reaching yield potential. Less known is the impact of water deficit on the nutritional quality of the resulting yield. This study characterised the impact of water deficit on carbon assimilation, modelled water use efficiency from carbon isotope discrimination and analysed the concentration of mineral nutrients, amino acids and sugars in leaf, phloem and pod pools collected from Phaseolus vulgaris L. (common bean) grown in a controlled environment. Water deficit led to an isohydric response, impacting on carbon isotope abundance in all tissues though not translating to any significant treatment differences in water use efficiency or nutrient content in tissues over the course of plant development. The results obtained in this study demonstrate that nutrient content of P. vulgaris yield was not impacted by the availability of water. The absence of significant changes in the nutrient content of individual seeds highlights the plasticity of developing reproductive tissue to changes in whole plant water availability.     

水肥条件对新老两个春小麦品种竞争能力和产量关系的影响

采用de Wit替代系列实验研究了传统地方品种和尚头和现代品种定西-24在土壤水肥梯度下混播时的竞争结局以及竞争能力和单播产量之间的关系。在各个水肥处理条件下,混播时,虽然和尚头对定西-24的影响效应有所减弱,但是,和尚头对定西-24的竞争结局并没有发生改变:和尚头最终完全排除定西-24,成为竞争中的优胜者。在低水无肥和高水高肥条件下,定西-24的单播产量显著高于和尚头的单播产量,二者的竞争能力与其单播产量之间呈负相关;在低水低肥条件下,和尚头的单播产量与定西-24的单播产量几乎相等,二者的竞争能力与其单播产量之间没有特定的关系;在中水中肥条件下,和尚头的单播产量高于定西-24的单播产量,二者的竞争能力与其单播产量之间呈正相关,据此可以认为和尚头和定西-24混播时的竞争能力与其单播产量之间没有特定的关系。在低水无肥和高水高肥条件下,定西-24的单播地上生物量显著高于和尚头的单播地上生物量。在水分严重亏缺的条件下,和尚头的水分利用效率显著低于定西-24的水分利用效率;随着水分供给的改变,和尚头的水分利用效率得到了显著提高,然而当水分不再成为和尚头生长限制因子时,其水分利用效率降低,结果表明一定程度水分利用效率的提高有利于春小麦适应半干旱区的水分环境。     

调亏灌溉和生物炭对大豆生长、产量及水分利用效率的影响

为了解生物炭及调亏灌溉对大豆的影响,以大豆"开育12号"为试验材料,采用随机区组试验设计,利用盆栽栽培条件,研究不同生物炭添加量B₀(0 t·hm^-2)、B₁(6t·hm^-2)、B₂(12 t·hm^-2)和不同程度调亏灌溉W₁(充分灌溉,70%田间持水量)、W₂(轻度调亏,55%～60%田间持水量)、W₃(重度调亏,45%～50%田间持水量)对大豆生长、产量及水分利用的影响。结果表明:轻度调亏灌溉不会影响大豆叶面积指数及地下部分干物质累积量,而大豆叶面积指数和地下部分干物质累积量随着生物炭使用量的增加而增加;地上部分干物质累积量随着调亏程度的加重而降低,而生物炭施用量为12 t·hm-2时,才会提高地上部分干物质累积量。调亏灌溉和生物炭均能影响大豆的耗水量,其中耗水量随着调亏程度的加剧而减少,而添加6 t·hm^-2生物炭耗水量最高,但有利于产量的形成。与充分灌溉不施用生...     

Effect of water deficit on biomass production and accumulation of secondary metabolites in roots of Glycyrrhiza uralensis

Two-year-old seedlings of licorice plant (Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch) were exposed to three degrees of water deficit, namely weak (60–70%), moderate (40–50%), and strong (20–30%) relative water content in soil, whereas control plants were grown in soil with 80–90% water content. Moderate and strong water deficit decreased the net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and biomass production. Water use efficiency and the root-to-shoot ratio increased significantly in response to water deficit, indicating a high tolerance to drought. Weak water deficit did not decrease root biomass production, but significantly increased the production of glycyrrhizic acid (by 89%) and liquiritin (by 125%) in the roots. Therefore, a weak water deficit can increase the yield of root medical compounds without negative effect on root growth.     

Stomatal and nonstomatal regulation of water use in cotton, corn, and sorghum

Stomata of corn (Zea mays L.) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) responded to changes in leaf water potential during the vegetative growth phase. During reproductive growth, leaf resistances were minimal and stomata were no longer sensitive to bulk leaf water status even when leaf water potentials approached −27 bars. Stomata of corn, cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), and sorghum appear to respond to changes in the humidity deficit between the leaf and air and in this manner, regulated transpirational flux to some degree. Distinct differences in water transport efficiency were observed in the three species. Under nonlimiting soil water conditions, sorghum exhibited the greatest efficiency of water transport while under limiting soil moisture conditions, cotton appeared most efficient. Corn was the least efficient with respect to nonstomatal regulation of water use. Differences in drought tolerance among the three species are partially dependent on stomatal regulation of water loss, but efficiency of the water transport system may be more related to drought adaptation. This is particularly important since stomata of all three species did not respond to bulk leaf water status during a large portion of the growing season.     

覆膜方式对一膜两年覆盖旱地玉米籽粒产量、水分利用效率和土壤水分平衡的影响

以挖掘黄土高原半干旱区全膜双垄沟播玉米节本增效技术,探讨一膜两年覆盖系统土壤水分平衡为目标,通过大田定位试验,量化研究了一膜两年覆盖条件下,全膜沟垄作(F₁M)、全膜平作(F₂M)、半膜平作(F₃M)和不覆膜平作(F₄M,对照)玉米的产量、经济收益、水分利用效率和土壤水分平衡.结果表明: 2年全膜沟垄作、平作的生物产量较对照平均增加32.8%和32.9%,籽粒产量增加60.8%和51.7%,水分利用效率和降水利用效率平均增加59.8%、35.9%和87.6%、64.4%.新覆膜全膜沟垄作、平作属于高产高投模式,其总产值较对照增加51.0%、41.2%,产投比较对照降低15.1%和16.2%;一膜两年覆盖全膜沟垄作、平作属于节本增效型生产模式,其总产值较对照增加40.8%和42.2%,产投比增加40.3%和42.2%.在606.5 mm的低降水条件下,一膜两年覆盖全膜沟垄作、平作的总耗水量分别达731.3和746.8 mm,土壤水分亏缺分别达124.8和140.3 mm,较对照增加22.7%和38.0%.一膜两年覆盖使全膜沟垄作、平作休闲期土壤水耗水量较对照降低了28.6%和30.0%,休闲效率较对照增加178.9%、148.3%.这说明全膜沟垄作、平作具有明显的增产和提高水分利用效率的作用,该技术结合一膜两年覆盖技术能实现节本增效,但在推广应用时需考虑低降水条件下的土壤水分亏缺问题.     

调亏灌溉对菘蓝水分利用及产量的影响

通过探究水分调亏对河西地区膜下滴灌菘蓝(Isatis indigotica)各项生理指标、产量和水分利用的影响, 为菘蓝高效节水种植提供理论指导。于2016年在河西走廊中部张掖市民乐县益民灌溉试验站进行菘蓝水分调亏研究, 在保持苗期和肉质根成熟期充分灌溉的情况下, 在菘蓝营养生长期和肉质根生长期分别进行轻度、中度和重度的水分亏缺处理, 并测定各项光合生理指标、产量和水分利用率。结果表明, 营养生长期和肉质根生长期的中度与重度水分亏缺显著降低了菘蓝叶片净光合速率、叶面积指数、株高及主根长, 并且随水分亏缺程度加重降幅增大; 而轻度水分亏缺与对照组的差异不显著。营养生长期和肉质根生长期轻度水分亏缺处理的菘蓝产量与水分利用效率最高, 分别达到8 239.56 kg·hm^-2和24.11 kg·hm^-2·mm^-1; 其它水分亏缺处理组产量和水分利用效率均有所降低, 与对照组之间差异显著(P<0.05), 重度水分亏缺处理各项指标均最低。因此, 最优的菘蓝水分调控处理为营养生长期和肉质根生长期的轻度水分调亏, 能够降低菘蓝耗水量, 提高水分利用效率且其产量不会降低。     

节水农业及其生理生态基础

提高自然降水和灌溉水利用效率是节水农业要解决的中心问题。近年实践证明,通过提高水分利用率的途径增加农田生产力存在很大潜力,节水和增产的目标可能同时实现。为实现这一目标,需要研究确定植物水分亏缺的允许程度。植物各个生理过程对水分亏缺的敏感性不同,综合文献报道和作者研究结果,水分亏缺对与作物产量密切相关生理过程影响的先后顺序为:生长—蒸腾—光合—运输。在一定条件下,有限水分亏缺不会对作物最终经济产量造成影响,但却能显著提高水分利用效率。     

Physiological and productive responses of Olea europaea L. cultivars Frantoio and Leccino to a regulated deficit irrigation regime

Abstract

Olive is a drought-tolerant species and it is known that it responds efficiently to any additional water up to a limit. A field experiment was planned with the following aims: to provide estimates of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) to improve water use efficiency during the growing season; to present guidelines for efficient management of irrigation scheduling; and to characterize the relationship between plant water status and optimum fruit yield. These relationships were monitored during four years by analysing the influence of deficit irrigation strategies on mature modern-trained olive trees of cultivars Frantoio and Leccino. Treatments were a non-irrigated control (rain-fed) and three treatments that received a seasonal water amount equivalent to 33, 66 and 100% of ETc, from the beginning of pit hardening to early fruit veraison. Results of the relationship between leaf water potential and maximum stomatal conductance (Ψ_pd vs. g _smax) showed that the stomatal apparatus in Frantoio was more sensitive to water deficit than that of Leccino. Differences in yield between treatments were mainly related to mean fruit weight, indicating that water availability might have affected growing conditions before flowering or during the early stages of fruit growth rather than later in the summer season. Vegetative development was a function of water available to plants. Frantoio achieved the highest crop production per unit of water consumption. Oil quality was scarcely affected by deficit irrigation. Regulated deficit irrigation of olive trees after pit hardening could be recommended, at least under the experimental conditions of this study. Given the different long-term watering response of Frantoio and Leccino, a cultivar-specific irrigation scheduling is advisable.     

玉米叶片水分利用效率的保守性

水分利用效率是植物个体或生态系统水分利用过程的重要特征参数,可表征不同时空尺度的植物碳-水耦合关系,对植物适应气候变化研究具有重要意义。以玉米为例,利用中国气象局固城农业气象野外科学试验基地2013—2014年玉米不同灌溉方案模拟试验资料,对不同叶位叶片的水分利用效率特征及其影响因素进行分析。结果表明:植株顶部第1片叶片水分利用效率在拔节期和乳熟期呈现明显的峰值,反映出明显的周期变化规律及其与叶片生理生态特征的紧密相关。在相同环境条件下,不同叶位叶片的水分利用效率不存在显著性差异,即玉米叶片水分利用效率具有空间稳定性与叶龄保守性。同时,研究指出叶片光合速率和蒸腾速率在叶位之间的协调变化是导致空间稳定性和叶龄保守性的主要原因。研究结果可为植物水分关系研究提供参考,也可为水分利用效率的尺度化研究提供依据。     

亏缺灌溉对干旱区两种乡土植物种子生产性能及其水分利用效率的影响

科学灌溉对植物种子生产具有重要意义。本研究以荒漠草原优良乡土植物沙芦草和牛枝子为对象,以充分灌溉为对照,探究不同生育时期亏缺灌溉对两种牧草种子生产和水分利用效率的影响。结果表明: 与对照相比,亏缺灌溉下两种植物土壤含水率下降,其中沙芦草土壤含水率下降主要发生在0～60 cm土层,牛枝子土壤水分下降未出现明显的分层现象。亏缺灌溉下沙芦草种子产量各构成因子差异均显著,开花期亏缺灌溉种子产量最高;牛枝子仅生殖枝数、小花数和荚果数差异显著,种子产量各处理差异不显著。相关分析显示,沙芦草种子产量与生殖枝数(r=0.776)、小穗数(r=0.717)呈显著正相关;牛枝子花序数与生殖枝数呈极显著负相关(r=-0.685),与小花数呈显著正相关(r=0.412)。与充分灌溉相比,亏缺灌溉下两种乡土植物种子生产耗水量减少,水分利用效率提高,其中,沙芦草开花期亏缺灌溉水分利用效率提高最多(32.9%);牛枝子分枝期亏缺灌溉提高最多(27.4%)。因此,适当亏缺灌溉可以提高两种植物水分利用效率。从水分利用效率和种子产量来看,干旱区沙芦草和牛枝子种子人工繁育时可采取亏缺灌溉,适宜亏缺的生育期分别为开花期和分枝期。     

Biomass Yield and Nutrient Uptake of Energy Sorghum in Response to Nitrogen Fertilizer Rate on Marginal Land in a Semi-Arid Region

Energy sorghum tolerates adverse climatic and edaphic conditions and has great potential as biofuel feedstock in marginal land. This study investigates the potential energy sorghum biomass production and uptake of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) on a sandy loam marginal land in a semi-arid region, in order to define optimum N fertilizer rate to produce the highest biomass yield with minimal nutrient elimination. Five N rate treatments (0, 60, 120, 180, and 240 kg ha^?1) and two sorghum varieties (sweet type Guotian-8 (GT-8) and biomass type Guoneng-11 (GN-11)) were used. Yield increment was observed as N level increased, but the standout treatment appeared to be N rate of 60 kg ha^?1 which significantly increased biomass yield vs. controls by 68.8% in 2014 and 64.1% in 2015. Biomass yield exhibited non-significant differences between N rate treatments from 60 to 240 kg ha^?1, although the highest biomass yield (9.2–11.9 t ha^?1) was observed in the 120 kg N ha^?1 treatment. Nutrient analysis showed that N, P, and K accumulation in aboveground plants increased with N rate increase, ranging between 32.2 and 119.1, 7.9 and 19.2, and 22.1 and 94.0 kg ha^?1, respectively, for the highest N rate of 240 kg ha^?1. Substantial amounts of N were extracted from the soil in control and 60 kg N ha^?1 treatments, despite the low fertility and organic matter content of the soil. Moreover, nitrogen (N) use efficiency (NUE) was maximized at lower N rates. A decline in physiological N use efficiency (PNUE) resulted in decreased agronomic N use efficiency (ANUE) at higher N rates. Hence, it is concluded that N fertilizer rate between 60 and 120 kg ha^?1 would be the optimal N requirement to facilitate sustainable production of energy sorghum on a sandy wasteland.     

Hydrological responses of land use change from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) to cellulosic bioenergy crops in the Southern High Plains of Texas,USA

The Southern High Plains (SHP) region of Texas in the United States, where cotton is grown in a vast acreage, has the potential to grow cellulosic bioenergy crops such as perennial grasses and biomass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). Evaluation of hydrological responses and biofuel production potential of hypothetical land use change from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) to cellulosic bioenergy crops enables better understanding of the associated key agroecosystem processes and provides for the feasibility assessment of the targeted land use change in the SHP. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to assess the impacts of replacing cotton with perennial Alamo switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), Miscanthus × giganteus (Miscanthus sinensis Anderss. [Poaceae]), big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) and annual biomass sorghum on water balances, water use efficiency and biofuel production potential in the Double Mountain Fork Brazos watershed. Under perennial grass scenarios, the average (1994–2009) annual surface runoff from the entire watershed decreased by 6–8% relative to the baseline cotton scenario. In contrast, surface runoff increased by about 5% under the biomass sorghum scenario. Perennial grass land use change scenarios suggested an increase in average annual percolation within a range of 3–22% and maintenance of a higher soil water content during August to April compared to the baseline cotton scenario. About 19.1, 11.1, 3.2 and 8.8 Mg ha^?1 of biomass could potentially be produced if cotton area in the watershed would hypothetically be replaced by Miscanthus, switchgrass, big bluestem and biomass sorghum, respectively. Finally, Miscanthus and switchgrass were found to be ideal bioenergy crops for the dryland and irrigated systems, respectively, in the study watershed due to their higher water use efficiency, better water conservation effects, greater biomass and biofuel production potential, and minimum crop management requirements.     

Localization of antioxidant enzymes in the cellular compartments of sorghum leaves

The localization of antioxidant enzymes between the mesophyll and bundle sheath cells were determined in sorghum (Sorghum vulgare L.) leaves. The activity of antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), guaiacol peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione reductase (GR) were assayed in whole leaf, mesophyll and bundle sheath fractions of sorghum leaves subjected to water-limited conditions. Drought was imposed by withholding water and the plants were maintained at different water potentials ranging from 0.5–2.0 MPa. The purity of the isolates was tested using the marker enzymes like RuBPcase and PEPcase. GR was mostly localized in mesophyll fraction, while SOD, APX and peroxidase were located in bundle sheath cells. Catalase was found to be equally distributed between the two cell types. Under water stress conditions, most of the SOD activity was found in the bundle sheath tissues. Little or no activity of the enzymes CAT, APX or POD was found in the mesophyll extracts when exposed to water stress. GR activity increased when exposed to low water regimes. From this study, it is clear that antioxidants are differentially distributed between the mesophyll and bundle sheath cells in sorghum leaves. Under water stress conditions, the mesophyll cells showed less damage from oxidative stress when compared to the bundle sheath cells. This is critical for determining the sensitivity of sorghum to extreme climatic conditions.