Because potassium is the main solute involved in the maintenance of cell turgor pressure and cell elongation, plants may promote the transport of K+ from the root to the shoot as a
mechanism to rapidly restore the plant water status and growth
after periods of water stress. To test this hypothesis, we studied K+
and water flows in the excised roots of six sunflower cultivars
immediately after a water stress period, as well as the relationship
between these flows and water stress tolerance.These cultivars are
widely grown in dry-land agricultural ecosystems in the south of
Spain, but there is limited information on their drought tolerance.
The results obtained in this study will provide further information
on how plants respond to and recover from water stress, and how
root K+ transport is related to drought tolerance