Preliminary results on phenotypic plasticity of coffee (Coffea arabica Cv. Rubi and Iapar59) plants in response to water constraint under field conditions

The effects of drought-stress on aerial and root architecture, ecophysiology, anatomy and molecular responses were investigated during 2 years using the Iapar59 (drought-tolerant) and Rubi (drought susceptible) cultivars of Coffea arabica. Plants were grown under three water treatments: I-I a non limited watering treatment (irrigated each year during the dry season), NI-NI a limited water treatment (non-irrigated during the dry seasons) and NI-I, a limited watering in year 1 and non-limited watering in year 2 ("recovery"). Six points of measurements were taken along the experiment. For all conditions, the phenotypic plasticity was followed by analyzing architecture, evolutions of biomass, ?13C and sap flow for example. (Résumé d'auteur