Author(s): David Shropshall,
Mentor(s): Hung Yu Shih, Yu-Chien Liu
Institution UTech
Water scarcity presents a significant challenge for agriculture in arid regions, where conserving water is essential for sustainable crop production. Abscisic acid (ABA) plays a central role in plant water regulation by controlling stomatal aperture, which affects water loss through transpiration. This study investigates whether precise ABA regulation can improve water efficiency in tomato plants (Solanum Lycopersicon) by inducing daytime stomatal closure thereby enhancing water conservation without reducing crop yield. We incubated all tomato seeds in ABA concentrations ranging from 1µM to 10µM for 7 days to promote early developmental responses to water stress. The plants were then divided into four groups: (1) water restrictions with no treatment, (2) water restrictions with injections of the same ABA concentrations they were incubated in, (3) no water restrictions with no treatment, and (4) no water restrictions with ABA injections. We performed injections of ABA at the same concentrations used during seed incubation to maintain consistent hormonal levels, enabling a controlled comparison of stomatal behavior and plant responses under both water-limited and non-limited conditions. Leaf samples are collected every other week, fixed, treated, and observed under a microscope to quantify stomatal behavior across treatments. Plant height, fruit production, and environmental conditions (temperature and humidity) are recorded weekly to monitor growth and yield. Preliminary findings suggest a correlation between higher ABA levels and increased daytime stomatal closure, with certain concentrations also impacting growth and fruiting rates. This research aims to determine an optimal ABA concentration that conserves water while supporting crop yield, providing a potential model for desert agriculture where ABA treatments could enhance water efficiency in crops.