By Ron Lyseng, The Western Producer, May 5, 2016
Plants react quickly to survive in dry conditions but not in a way that is good for yield
CALGARY — For a plant living in a prairie field, death by drought lurks just around the next El Nino
The physiological trauma that occurs within that plant during drought is a bit more complicated than “it just ran out of water and dried up.”
A plant cannot put itself into the “hold mode” for a few extra days waiting for help to arrive in the form of rain, says Dr. David Simbo, crop specialist with the Lakeland Agricultural Research Association in Bonnyville Alta.