Leaf Development and Prolinee Changes in Fig ‘Sabz’ Grafted on Different Rootstocks under Water Stress

Considering that leaves are factory of making carbohydrates for plant growth and proline content has been shown in many plants as a drought tolerance index, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of water stress on leaf development and proline changes in Sabz cultivar grafted on 3 rootstocks (Sabz/Sabz, Sabz/Siah, Sabz/Torsh) and 3 non-grafted rootstocks (Sabz, Siah, Torsh). The experiment was conducted in completely randomized design (CRD) with 4 levels of water stress (100, 75, 50 and 25% water requirment; WR) with 4 replications in a greenhouse. Results showed that by increasing drought stress, leaf number, and leaf fresh and dry weight decreased. Comparing non-grafted rootstocks in 100% WR, the highest (45.2) and lowest (37.2) number of leaves were observed in Torsh and Siah rootstocks, respectively. However, in grafted combinations, Siah rootstock increased the number of leaves in Sabz cultivar (scion) in 100 and 50% WR. The proline content in leaves of Sabz cultivar was significantly affected by different rootstocks in 25% WR (2.51, 2.08 and 1.09) µmol /g fw of leaves for Torsh, Sabz and Siah, respectively.