Film antitranspirant to protect from drought damage: a new type of agrochemical for wheat?

Film antitranspirants are polymers sprayed onto plants to reduce transpiration, but they also restrict carbon dioxide uptake, and extensive research in the 20th century concluded that film antitranspirant use is limited to plants in circumstances where photosynthesis is not important. Research at Harper Adams University College has shown that this conclusion may not apply to sprays on wheat timed near the booting stage, which is the most sensitive stage to water stress. Yield response to a film antitranspirant from field experiments in Shropshire showed a linear relationship with soil moisture deficit at the time of spraying. This relationship can be used to calculate an economic threshold soil moisture deficit for spray decision-making