The Effects of Drought
Drought is a devastating natural hazard, due to the negative effects of the climatic change, the percentage of the planet affected by drought has more than doubled in the last 40 years (FAO).
Water deficit in plants is considered as one of the major abiotic stresses (Jaleel et al., 2009). Plants exposed to severe draught experience changes in metabolic functions such as losses of photosynthesis pigments. Lower photosynthesis rate means low plant biomass and consequently a reduction in yield.
Plants have different mechanisms to avoid water deficit. Among them, stomatal conductance is reduced as part of the systemic response triggered by a signal that originates in the root system. One of these responses is the production of abscisic acid (ABA) (Mata and Lamattina., 2001)