Response on the Biomass and Leaf Structure of Blumea balsamifera L. DC. Seedling to Water Stress

Purpose To understand the changes of plant height, diameter, biomass and leaf structure of different medicinal plant Blumea balsamifera L. DC. under different water stress in order to find out the best cultivation conditions.

Method The experiments were conducted on 1-year-old B. balsamifera seedlings as test materials for 4 months (May-September 2014) with different degrees of drought stress (CK was 80% of field soil water content, LD was 60% and MD was 40%, SD 30%). The biomass and the leaf structure index under the microscope were determined. The effects of different degrees of drought on the biomass of B. balsamifera and the structure of the leaves were analyzed.

Result Under different drought degrees, biomass, leaf thickness, palisade tissue and cell tense ratio (CTR) decreased with decreasing soil moisture, whereas root-shoot ratio, spongy ratio (SR) and sponge tissue increased with decreasing water content.

Conclusion Moderate stress is the maximum tolerable range of the plant growth. Artificial planting can maintain the growth of leaves and ground diameter under 40% of the soil water content to obtain the medicinal material.