Maintenance of a high photosynthetic performance is linked to flooding tolerance in citrus

Citrus trees have been considered as flooding-sensitive although important differences in tolerance among species have been reported. The tolerance to flooding has been linked to optimal photosynthetic performance in other woody plants. To test whether there was a relationship between photosynthetic performance and flooding tolerance, leaf damage, chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, the ratio of internal to ambient CO2 concentration (Ci/Ca), water use efficiency and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were studied in leaves of three citrus genotypes differing in their tolerance to flooding during continuous substrate flooding and alternate cycles of flooding and recovery. In Cleopatra and Citrumelo genotypes, marked reductions in net photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance as well as increases in Ci/Ca in response to flooding stress were observed although with differences in the magnitude of the variation. In contrast, in Carrizo, a relatively flooding-tolerant genotype, there were no changes in net photosynthetic rate or in Ci/Ca and only a slight decrease in stomatal conductance occurred in response to flooding. Significant correlation between net photosynthetic rate and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters during flooding indicated a biochemical impairment of photosynthetic activity. This effect was apparently linked to damage in the PSII light-harvesting complexes induced by flooding and a subsequent effect on PSII to PSI electron flow that may alter the redox status in cells. Such biochemical impairment could lead to an increase in oxidative damage in Cleopatra and Citrumelo. The maintenance of good photosynthetic performance together with mechanisms to adjust electron flow in the photosynthetic apparatus could be linked to flooding tolerance in these woody plants.