The average soil moisture in the nonwater
stressed trees (control and PBZ) remained
high (around 26–31%) throughout the
experimental period, while the average soil
moisture in the trees under water stress treatments
decreased to 14% at the end of water stress and
returned quickly to the original level after
rewatering (Figure 1).
The change in LWP before and at the end
of water stress was a consequence of the change
of soil moisture. The LWP in the water stressed
trees and in the trees receiving the urea application
combined with water stress dropped sharply to
-2.09 and -2.17 MPa, respectively, at the end of
water stress and returned to normal after
rewatering, whereas the LWP in non-water stressed
trees (control and PBZ) remained high at -0.5 MPa
throughout the experiment. Meanwhile, LWP in the trees receiving the PBZ application combined
with water stress was not statistically different
from non-water stressed trees (Figure 2).