At the end of July 1999, 30 apricot plants of each rootstock, of similar
size and appearance, were submitted to three treatments: T0,nonflooded (control treatment), irrigated daily as indicated, and two
flooded treatments, for a period of 3 days (T1) and 6 days (T2). Ten
plants of each rootstock were flooded by submerging the pots in a
water tank (70 cm depth), maintaining the water level 4 cm above soil
surface during the flooding period. A similar number of plants (ten)
were used for the control treatment. After being submerged for 3 and
6 days, the plants were removed from the water, drained, then placed
in the same conditions as the control plants. Irrigation was reinitiated
when soil matrix potential values reached –45 kPa, which occurred
three and four days after the end of the flooding period, for T1 and T2
treatment, respectively. Recovery was studied over a period of 40
days.