V. faba fixes nitrogen effectively (Richards & Soper, 1979), however nitrogen fixation is reportedly energetically expensive and water deficit sensitive. Research was designed to determine whether medium nitrogen applications would result in increased productivities in V. faba, particularly during water deficits. Non-nodulated and nodulated V. faba were subjected to gradual water deficit imposition, and were supplied with a variety of medium nitrogen nutrition. Nitrogen fixing V. faba exhibited greater productivities than V. faba which were supplied with low medium nitrate concentrations (0.8 roM N), even during water deficits. Plant performance parameters (growth; net photosynthesis; nitrogen assimilatory enzyme activities; osmotic adjustment) were greater in nodulated than in non-nodulated 'no nitrate' supplied V. faba throughout water deficits, inferring water deficit tolerance for nitrogen fixation. However significantly greater plant performance paramaters were exhibited in V. faba when supplied with increasingly concentrated medium nitrogen nutrition (> 0.8 roM N) than when reliant on nitrogen fixation. In contrast to the bulk of previous literature, NR activities were maintained in V. faba until water deficits became severe, inferring a role for nitrate assimilation in nitrogenous osmotica production. Medium ammonia additions resulted in the exhibition of significantly increased root biomasses; cumulative leaf areas (important for a green manure crop); heights; and nitrogen assimilation in V. faba throughout water deficits, and accordingly in increased osmotic adjustment (including compatible solute accumulation), protein concentrations and vegetative yields. Greater plant productivities in v. faba when supplied with medium ammonia additions were attributed in part to lower associated assimilatory costs for ammonia than nitrate nutrition (Raven, 1992). Results indicated increased metabolism as opposed to storage of medium ammonia, and therefore potentially alleviated 'sink size' feedback inhibition of photosynthesis and nitrogen metabolism in V. faba when supplied with medium ammonia additions. Furthermore ammonia supplied V. faba may have been predisposed towards water deficit tolerance. In summary V. faba exhibited significantly greater nitrogen assimilation; osmotic adjustment; net photosynthesis; and growth when supplied with increasingly concentrated medium nitrogen nutrition (and particularly with medium ammonia additions) than when reliant on nitrogen fixation, both during periods of adequate irrigation and during water deficits.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Global climate change has resulted in altered rainfall patterns, causing annual losses in maize crop yield due to water deficit stress. Therefore, it is important to produce maize cultivars which are more drought-tolerant. This not an easily accomplished task as plants have a plethora of physical and biochemical adaptation methods. One such mechanism is the drought-induced expression of enzymatic and non-enzymatic proteins which assist plants to resist the effects of water deficit stress. The RD22-like protein subfamily is expressed in response to water deficit stress. Members of the RD22-like subfamily include AtRD22, GmRd22 and BnBDC1 which have been identified in Arabidopsis thaliana, Glycine max and Brassica napus respectively. This study aims at characterising two putative maize RD22-like proteins (designated ZmRd22A and ZmRd22B) by identifying sequence/domain features shared with characterised RD22-like proteins. Semi-quantitative and quantitative PCR techniques were used to examine the spatial and temporal expression patterns of the two putative maize Rd22-like proteins in response to, water deficit stress and exogenously applied abscisic acid in the roots and 2nd youngest leaves of maize seedlings. Using an in silico approach, sequence homology of the two putative maize Rd22- like proteins with AtRD22, GmRD22 and BnBDC1 has been analysed. Online bioinformatic tools were used to compare the characteristics of these Rd22-like proteins with those of the two maize proteins. It was shown that the putative maize RD22-like proteins share domain organisation with the characterised proteins, these common features include a N-terminal hydrophobic signal peptide, followed by a region with a conserved amino acid sequence, a region containing several TxV (x is any amino acid) repeat units and a C-terminal BURP domain-containing the conserved X₅-CH-X₁₀-CH-X₂₃-₂₇-CH-X₂₃-₂₆-CH-X₈-W motif. The putative maize Rd22-like protein appears to be localized in the apoplast, similarly to AtRD22, GmRD22 and BnBDC1. Analysis of the gene's promotor regions reveals cis-acting elements suggestive of induction of gene expression by water deficit stress and abscisic acid (ABA). Semi-quantitative and quantitative real time PCR analysis of the putative maize RD22-like gene revealed that the genes are not expressed in the roots. Exposure to water deficit stress resulted in an increase of ZmRD22A transcript accumulation in the 2nd youngest leaves of maize seedlings. ZmRD22A was shown to be non-responsive to exogenous ABA application. ZmRD22B was highly responsive to exogenous ABA application and responded to water deficit stress to a lesser degree. Transcript accumulation studies in three regions of the 2nd youngest leaves in response to water deficit stress showed that ZmRd22A transcripts accumulate mainly at the base and tips of the leaves. A restricted increase in ZmRD22A transcript accumulation in the middle of the leaves was observed. ZmRD22B showed a similar, but weaker transcript accumulation pattern in response to water deficit stress. However, ZmRD22B showed increased transcript accumulation in the middle region of the leaves. In response to exogenous ABA application, ZmRd22B exhibited high transcript accumulation at the base of the 2nd youngest leaves, with the middle showing higher transcript accumulation than the tip of the leaves. It was concluded that ZmRD22A and ZmRD22B share the domain organisation of characterised RD22-like proteins as well as being responsive to water deficit stress, although only ZmRD22B was shown to be responsive to exogenous ABA application. / National Research Foundation (NRF)

The geographic variation of taxonomic richness may be directly determined by climate through contemporaneous/ecological processes, versus other (e.g., historical/evolutionary processes) that happen to be collinear with contemporaneous climate. In Chapter 1 I evaluated hypotheses from both groups of explanations in North America. If contemporaneous climate controls patterns of richness, then richness should vary with climate through time in the same way that richness varies with current climate through space. Over the last ca. 11,000 yr, richness-temperature relationships remained reasonably constant. Between 12,000 and 14,000 yr BP, when climate fluctuated rapidly, richness gradients as a function of temperature were significantly shallower. If historical climate over the last 21,000 years determines patterns of richness, then historical climate should be a better predictor of richness than contemporaneous climate. I rejected historical-climate as a better predictor of richness. Contemporaneous climate stands as the most plausible explanation for contemporaneous patterns of richness, at least over the last 11,000 yr. In Chapter two, I tested the prediction that richness of most taxa should increase with temperature in all but the warmest and driest areas. Climate warming during Pleistocene-Holocene transition led richness increases in wet areas, but richness declines in dry regions, as expected from current richness-climate relationships. A decline in small mammal species richness in Northern California since the late Pleistocene was expected from the current richness-climate relationship for this group in North America. These results contest the view that future global warming may lead to species extinction rates that would qualify as the sixth mass extinction in the history of the earth. In chapter three, I first tested the hypothesis that richness gradients mainly reflect the sum of individual species climatic tolerances. I tested this hypothesis for birds, mammals and trees native to eastern North America (ENA, where there are no major barriers to dispersal). The number of species present in any given area in ENA is usually much smaller than the number of species in the continental pool that tolerate the climatic conditions in that area. Second, I tested several explanations for patterns of unfilled potential richness. Unfilled potential richness is inconsistent with postglacial dispersal lags, climatic variability since the Last Glacial Maximum, or with biotic interactions. In contrast, unfilled richness is highly consistent with a probabilistic model of species climate occupancy. Individual species climatic tolerances is not the process generating the main current patterns of richness, nor are post-glacial dispersal lags, climatic variability since the LGM or biotic interactions. This thesis is consistent with the hypothesis that contemporaneous climate directly controls spatial patterns of richness. Generally, there seems to be little need to invoke historical processes as determinants of current gradients of richness.

Orientador: Márcia Ortiz Mayo Marques / Resumo: A Lippia alba (Verbenaceae), popularmente conhecida como erva-cidreira, é uma planta originaria da América do Sul e considerada um recurso genético vegetal de altíssimo valor para estudos de bioprospecção pela sua potencial importância econômica, ecológica e propriedades do seu óleo essencial. A irrigação de sistemas de produção agrícola depende da disponibilidade dos recursos hídricos da demanda de água em cada etapa do cultivo, requerendo um manejo criterioso e sustentável. Estudos em plantas aromáticas têm mostrado que o manejo da água por meio da irrigação e as condições climáticas do local de cultivo são fatores abióticos determinantes na produção de biomassa, rendimento de óleo essencial e síntese de princípios ativos de interesse para a indústria de cosméticos, perfumes e fragrâncias. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o efeito de diferentes lâminas de irrigação na biomassa, rendimento, produção e composição química do óleo essencial da espécie Lippia alba, de clones selecionados de quimiotipo linalol, pertencentes ao Banco de Germoplasma do Instituto Agronômico (IAC). As mudas foram obtidas por propagação assexuada e o cultivo conduzido em casa de vegetação em sistema orgânico de produção. Os tratamentos foram representados pelo manejo da irrigação com base na evapotranspiração de referência (50%, 75%, 100% ET0 e 125% da ET0). Os cortes foram efetuados aos 90, 180, 270 e 360 dias após a poda de formação (DAPF). As plantas foram avaliadas quanto à produção total de ma... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Lippia alba (Verbenaceae), popularly known as lemon balm, is a plant originally from South America and considered a highly valuable plant genetic resource for bioprospecting studies due to its potential economic, ecological and essential oil properties. The irrigation of agricultural production systems depends on the availability of water resources for water demand at each stage of cultivation, requiring careful and sustainable management. Studies on aromatic plants have shown that water management through irrigation and the climatic conditions of the place of cultivation are abiotic factors determining biomass production, essential oil yield and synthesis of active principles of interest to the cosmetics, perfumes industry and fragrances. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different irrigation depths on biomass, yield, production and chemical composition of the essential oil of the species Lippia alba, from selected clones of the linalool chemotype, belonging to the Germplasm Bank of the Agronomic Institute (IAC). The seedlings were obtained by asexual propagation and cultivation was carried out in a greenhouse in an organic production system. The treatments were represented by irrigation management based on reference evapotranspiration (50%, 75%, 100% ET0 and 125% ET0). The cuts were made at 90, 180, 270 and 360 days after the formation pruning (DAPF). Plants were evaluated for total leaf dry matter production (PTMSF), total stem dry matter production... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

Understanding the response of soil microbial communities to various environmental stresses is of current interest, because of their pivotal role in nutrient cycling, soil organic matter mineralization and influence on plant growth. Determining the affect of several biotic and abiotic factors on soil microbial communities is the overall objective of the study. The specific goals are to determine 1) the response of microbial communities to water deficit in soil and 2) how the presence of a rich biotic community determines the direction of microbial community development in cultures. Both goals are novel and unique contributions to understanding microbial ecology in soil. Dynamics in water potentials due to drying and rewetting of soil impose significant physiological challenges to soil microorganisms. To cope with these fluctuations, many microorganisms alter the chemistry and concentration of their cytoplasmic contents. The aim of this research is to understand how the microbial biomass and their cytoplasm change in response to water potential deficits under in situ soil conditions. To address this objective we characterized intracellular and extracellular metabolites in moist, dry and salt stressed soils. Our results provided the first direct evidence that microbial communities in soil in situ utilize sugars and sugar alcohols to cope with low water potential. While the cultivation and isolation of microorganisms is essential to completely explore their physiology and ecology, 99% of soil microbes resist growing in cultures. Presence of very unnatural conditions in the culture plates was considered as main reason for low cultivability. Thus, a culture-based study was conducted whereby microorganisms were grown in association with their native habitat with an objective of mimicking native conditions to promote the growth of previously uncultivated microorganisms. Moreover, the importance of biotic communities (microbe-microbe) and abiotic soil effects were assessed on bacterial growth. Our results strongly indicate that the presence of living microbial community in the vicinity of the target culture resulted in the cultivation of novel members of rare bacterial taxa from phyla Verrucomicrobia, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Planctomycetes. These results emphasize the need to develop new culturing methods to tap the hidden microbial potential for emerging anthropogenic needs.

<p>A thesis concerning the effects of water deficit on stomatal traits in plants. The relationships between different traits and their influence on overall stomatal anatomy is discussed. Genetic work to investigate molecular regulation of stomatal development is also presented and discussed.</p>

The primary objective of this research was to identify practices by which specialty cut flower growers can extend the vase life of cut delphinium, sunflower, and dahlia. Experiments investigated the effects of nitrogen fertilization rate on delphinium 'Guardian Mix' and the effects of deficit irrigation on delphinium 'Guardian Blue.' 'Guardian Mix' plants produced marketable cut stems at nitrogen rates as low as 50 mg/L. Deficit irrigation did not change vase life, stomatal conductance, or transpiration rates of delphinium 'Guardian Blue.' Studies tested the effects of foliar calcium applications or benzyladenine application on sunflower 'Moulin Rouge' and 'Procut Lemon.' Calcium did not change the vase life, stomatal conductance, or transpiration rates of either sunflower cultivar. Benzyladenine applied as a preharvest spray or a postharvest dip did not alter vase life of sunflower 'Moulin Rouge' or 'Procut Lemon.' Transpiration rate and conductance rates of sunflowers significantly decreased in the first three days after harvest. In both sunflower experiments, vase life of 'Moulin Rouge' was shorter than vase life of 'Procut Lemon.' Benzyladenine was also applied to dahlia 'Park Princess' and 'Karma Yin Yang' cut flowers. Benzyladenine did not change dahlia vase life. Dahlia 'Park Princess,' 'Bride to Be,' 'Cherish,' and 'Lollipop' cut flowers were not sensitive to exogenous ethylene. Further experiments tested the effect of flower stage at harvest, vase water temperature, or preharvest fungicide application on dahlia 'Park Princess' and 'Karma Yin Yang' cut flowers. Vase life of 'Park Princess' flowers was extended when flowers were harvested before fully open, but 'Park Princess' flowers harvested at budbreak failed to open completely after harvest. 'Karma Yin Yang' cut flower vase life did not differ when flowers were harvested at different stages. Placing cut dahlias in hot vase water had varied effects, but did not extend vase life of either cultivar. Fungicide applications extended vase life of 'Park Princess' flowers. However, the use of fungicide is not necessary to prevent postharvest fungal infection in cut dahlias. The results of all experiments indicate that optimal handling practices vary between cut flower taxa and that factors determining cut flower vase life are complex. / Master of Science

Orientador: Dagoberto Martins / Banca: Luciano Soares de Souza / Banca: Ana Catarina Cataneo / Resumo: O objetivo deste estudo foi o de avaliar em condições de casa de vegetação a eficiência de herbicidas inibidores das enzimas acetolactato sintase (ALS) e protoporfirinogênio oxidase (PROTOX) em pós-emergência em plantas de Euphorbia heterophylla, Bidens pilosa e Ipomoea grandifolia quando submetidos a déficit hídrico, bem como a ação destes sobre algumas características bioquímicas. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi inteiramente casualizado em esquema fatorial 4x2, sendo quatro herbicidas utilizados (fomesafen, lactofen, chlorimuron-ethyl e imazethapyr) e dois níveis de déficit hídrico: com déficit (-0,5 MPa) e sem déficit (-0,01 MPa). Quando as plantas daninhas atingiram o estádio de um par de folhas definitivas a manutenção da umidade do solo nos dois níveis de cada tratamento. Aos 7, 14, 21 e 28 dias após a aplicação (DAA) dos herbicidas foi avaliado o controle (por escala visual) e aos 28 DAA a massa seca da parte aérea. As plantas utilizadas para a determinação dos solutos orgânicos (carboidratos solúveis, proteínas totais e aminoácidos livres) foram coletadas às 24, 48, 72 e 96 horas após a aplicação (HAA). Todos os herbicidas controlaram as plantas daninhas de I. grandifolia, enquanto que apenas os inibidores da PROTOX foram eficientes no controle de E. heterophylla, contudo para as plantas de B. pilosa o fomesafen foi o único herbicida que proporcionou um controle satisfatório. O déficit hídrico reduziu o controle de todos herbicidas estudados. Tanto o déficit hídrico como a aplicação de herbicidas aumentaram o conteúdo de carboidratos solúveis em todas as plantas estudadas. O teor de proteínas encontrado nas plantas daninhas estudadas foi reduzido pelo déficit hídrico e a aplicação dos herbicidas, enquanto que para as concentrações de aminoácidos livres os herbicidas proporcionaram um incremento nessa concentração ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The objective of this work was to evaluate conditions in the greenhouse the efficiency of herbicides inhibitors of acetolactate synthase (ALS) and protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PROTOX) post-emergence in plant of Euphorbia heterophylla, Ipomoea grandifolia and Bidens pilosa when subjected to water deficit, as well as to determine the effect of these on some biochemical characteristics. The experimental design was randomized blocks in factorial scheme 4x2, with four herbicides (fomesafen lactofen, chlorimuron-ethyl and imazethapyr), and two levels of water deficit: with deficit (-0,5 MPa) and no deficit (-0,01MPa). When weeds reached the stage of a pair of true leaves to maintain soil moisture at the two leaves of each treatment. At 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after application (DAA), was evaluated the control (a visual scale), and 28 DAA, the dry weight of shoots. The plants used for the determination of organics solutes (soluble carbohydrates, protein and free amino acids) were collected at 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours after application (HAA). All herbicides controlled the weeds of I. grandifolia whereas only PROTOX inhibitors were effective in control of E. heterophylla, however, to plants of B. pilosa fomesafen was the single that provided satisfactory control. Water deficit reduced the control of all the herbicides. Both the water deficit and herbicide application increased the soluble carbohydrate content in all species studied. The protein found in the weeds studied were reduced by water deficit and herbicide application, whereas for concentrations of free amino acids the herbicides have provided an increase in this concentration, but with respect to water deficit caused reduction of amino acids, except for plants B. pilosa / Mestre

La recherche de maïs plus tolérants au déficit hydrique est un enjeu fondamental pour la production agricole dans les prochaines décennies. Le but ce travail a été d’identifier et de caractériser des gènes impliqués dans la variation de caractères complexes affectés par le déficit hydrique chez le maïs.Nous avons tout d’abord identifié des transcrits et des protéines, dont la teneur variait entre deux mélanges de lignées recombinantes différant pour une région chromosomique influençant la croissance foliaire et la protandrie en condition de déficit hydrique. Parmi les huit gènes candidats cartographiés au niveau de la région d’intérêt, se trouvait le facteur de transcription ZmMYB31 impliqué dans la biosynthèse de la lignine. Nous avons montré que son expression était corrélée à celle de deux de ses cibles, à la teneur en lignine et à l’expression du gène ZmFatA impliqué dans la biosynthèse des acides gras, suggérant un rôle régulateur de la protéine ZmMYB31 via la synthèse de lignine et de dérivés lipidiques.Dans un second volet, nous avons montré que la sur-expression du gène candidat ZmASR1 (ZmASR1-OE) chez le maïs maintenait le rendement en condition de déficit hydrique. Des analyses transcriptomiques et protéomiques nous ont permis d’identifier 25 cibles de la protéine ZmASR1, dont sept gènes impliqués dans la biosynthèse des acides aminés branchés. Nous avons également montré qu’il existait une étroite corrélation entre 13 métabolites diminués par ZmASR1-OE, six étant connus pour être négativement corrélés à la biomasse. Enfin, des résidus phosphorylés ont été identifiés chez les protéines ZmASR1, ZmASR2 et ZmASR3, suggérant leur régulation par phosphorylation. / Maize is particularly sensitive to water deficit at reproductive stages. As such, identification of factors that confer tolerance to water deficit would pave the way for increasing agricultural productivity. The aim of this work was to identify and make up the functional characterization of candidate genes for water deficit tolerance in maize.Firstly, transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of bulked recombinant inbred lines revealed eight differentially expressed genes colocating with a chromosomal region exhibiting two QTLs for leaf growth and anthesis-silking interval sensitivities to water deficit. Among them, we identified the transcription factor ZmMYB31 gene involved in the control of lignin biosynthesis. The expression of ZmMYB31 was correlated with that of its targets genes ZmCOMT and ZmFAD9, as well as ZmFatA involved in fatty acid biosynthesis. Changes in lignin and fatty acid content allowed us to hypothesis a regulatory role of ZmMYB31 via lignin and fatty acid-derived metabolites.Secondly, we showed that transgenic maize plants overexpressing the candidate gene ZmASR1 (ZmASR1-OE) maintained kernel yield under water deficit condition in the field. Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of ZmASR1-OE leaves allowed us to identify 25 direct or indirect target genes of ZmASR1, in particular seven genes involved in branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) biosynthesis. We also showed a tight correlation between the level of 13 decreased metabolites in ZmASR1-OE leaves, 6 of which being previously shown to be negatively correlated to biomass. Phosphoresidues were also found in ZmASR1, ZmASR2 and ZmASR3, suggesting that these proteins are regulated by phosphorylation.

O milho é uma das culturas de grande importância no cenário agrícola mundial devido sua importante participação no setor alimentício, bem como suas exigências hídricas no decorrer do seu ciclo. Sendo assim, tornam-se importantes os estudos quanto a utilização dos recursos hídricos, onde as estratégias de irrigação são de grande importância para a economia de água. O objetivo do presente estudo foi o de avaliar diferentes lâminas de irrigação (déficit e excesso) no decorrer do ciclo total e em fases fenológicas especificas da cultura do milho. Foram avaliadas as características de desenvolvimento, produção e estado hídrico da planta. Os experimentos foram realizados no Departamento de Engenharia de Biossistemas na Escola Superior de Agricultura \"Luiz de Queiroz\", ESALQ-USP, localizada em Piracicaba - SP. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos casualizados, com 12 tratamentos e quatro repetições. Os tratamentos consistiam na reposição de 150, 100, 50 e 30% da água evapotranspirada (ETc), aplicadas em quatro subperíodos do ciclo total da cultura: subperíodo 1 (V4 a V8), subperíodo 2 (V8 a Vp), subperíodo 3 (Vp a R1) e subperíodo 4 (R1 a R6). Os dados de cada experimento foram submetidos a análise de variância individual e quando possível, análise de variância conjunta, utilizando os dados médios dos experimentos. O 1° plantio foi realizado em 18 de maio de 2012 e o 2° 21 de abril de 2013 em ambiente protegido, totalizando 137 e 144 dias de ciclo, com soma-térmica de 1413 e 1444°C graus dias acumulados (GDA), respectivamente. Avaliou-se a altura das plantas (ALT), altura de inserção da espiga (AIT.I), número de espigas por planta (N.E), peso da espiga com palha (PEP), peso da espiga despalhada (PED), número de grão por espiga (NG), número de fileiras de grão por espiga (NFG), tamanho da espiga (TE), diâmetro da espiga (DE) diâmetro do sabugo (DS), número de entrenós (NE) e produtividade (PG). Mediu-se a temperatura foliar (Tf), déficit de pressão e vapor (DPV) e potencial hídrico foliar(-&Psi;f). O potencial hídrico foliar mostrou ser o método eficaz quanto ao estado hídrico da planta, havendo diferenciação entre os quatro tratamentos estudados (IIII, EEEE, D50 e D70), demonstrando variação do seu valor ao longo do dia. Calculou-se o coeficiente de resposta da cultura ao déficit hídrico (KY), onde o período de pendoamento e floração foram os mais críticos quando a deficiência hídrica foi imposta em fases fenológicas especificas. A partir dos dados de produtividade e lâminas de água aplicadas nos dois experimentos, foi possível ajustar modelos polinomiais de 2° grau para a produtividade da água (PA) e função de produção da cultura. Os resultados permitiram concluir que a maior PA foi obtida no tratamento D50. / Deficit and water excess in maize (Zea mays L.) in greenhouse Maize is a culture with importance in global scenario due your function in food industry, as well as yours water requirements in the course of your cycle. Therefore, studies became important regarding the use of water resources where irrigation strategies are of great importance for water savings. This study aimed evaluate different irrigation levels (deficit and water excess) during a total maize cycle and at different specifics phenological stages of the culture. Development characteristics, production and hydric state of the plant were evaluated. The experiments were conducted at Department of Biosystems Engineering from \"Luiz de Queiroz\" College of Agriculture, located at Piracicaba, São Paulo State. The experimental design was a randomized block, with 12 treatments and 4 repetitions. Treatments consisted in replacement of 150, 100, 50 and 30% of water evapotranspired (ETc), applied in four subperiods of the total culture cycle: subperiod 1 (V4 to V8), subperiod 2 (V8 to Vp), subperiod 3 (Vp to R1) and subperiod 4 (R1 to R6). The experimental data were submitted to individual variance analysis, and when were possible, conjunct variance analysis, using the average data of the experiments. The first planting was carried out on 18 May of 2012 and the second, on April 21 of 2013, in greenhouse, totaling 137 and 144-day cycle, with sum-Thermal 1413 and 1444 °C accumulated degree days (ADD),respectively. Were evaluated the plant height (PH); ear height insertion (AIT.I); number of ears per plant (NE); ear weight with straw (PEP); weight of ear without straw (PED); number of grain per ear (NG); number of grain rows per ear (NFG); ear size (TE); ear diameter (dE); diameter of the cob (DS); number of between-nodes (NE) and productivity (PG). The leaf temperature was measured (Tm), also the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and leaf water potential (Pl). Leaf water potential showed to be an efficient method regarding hydric state of the plant, there were difference between the four treatments studied (III, EEEE, D50 e D70), demonstrating variation of its value over the day. the response coefficient of the crop to water deficit (KY) were calculated, where the period of bolting and flowering were the most critical when water stress was imposed in specific phenological stages. From the productivity data and water levels applied in both experiments, was possible adjust second degree polynomials models to water productivity (WP) and culture production function. The results allowed conclude that a higher WP were obtained in the treatment D50.