The response of ten triticale (X Triticosecale ex Wittm. A. Camus) genotypes to water deficit was investigated by withholding water at the booting stage under greenhouse conditions. Total water potential (ψ) and osmotic potential (π) were measured and used to estimate osmotic adjustment (OA). Variation was observed in OA among the genotypes. The two wheat cultivars showed high OA as expected; moreover many of the triticale cultivars appeared to respond similarly to the wheat cultivars. Linear regressions of relative water content versus π for the cultivars showed significant differences in slope (P < 0.0001). Differences in grain yield and yield components were significant between genotypes (P < 0.001). There was a significant and negative correlation between OA and sterile tiller number (P < 0.05, r²= 0.40). OA may, therefore, be a factor in improving seed set when triticale is stressed at this stage.

The RAF Regiment was created in the early years of World War II for the active dedicated defence of RAF airfields and installations. This books concerns the Regiments operational history in South-east Asia Command and draws on the diaries and recollections of the men who served in that theatre. It is strongly supported by maps and diagrams from official records. The Regiment played a vital and significant role in the two major battles for Burma, Imphal and Meiktila. The struggle at Imphal ranks alongside Stalingrad and Alamein in its significance for the defeat of the Axis.

From humble beginnings, the Regiment in Burma had by 1945 become a highly-trained specialist ground force capable of defensive and offensive action. The successes of the 14th Army were founded on the support of the transport, fighter and bomber squadrons. The RAF could not have done this as effectively without the confidence that its airfields and vital installations were safe under the constant vigilance of the RAF Regiment.

An investigation was made into the effects of long- and short-term water stress on the growth and water relations of species of Acacia belonging to four major sections of the subgenus Phyllodineae; the bipinnate-leaved Botrycephalae and the phyllodinous Juliflorae, Phyllodineae and Plurinerves. The germplasm was collected from sites within a narrow rainfall band [700–800 mm mean annual rainfall (m.a.r.)]. Shoot and root mass were significantly decreased in three of the four sections by water stress. The exception was the Juliflorae that showed a conservative growth strategy. A high root/shoot ratio is associated with tolerance to arid or semiarid environments, however, the highest root/shoot ratio was found for the temperate Botrycephalae. Measurements were made of the capacity for active and partial osmoregulation. All sections showed a biphasic response to drought stress for natural logarithm plots of relative water content (RWC) vs. osmotic potential in one or both experiments. This pattern of response has previously only been reported in a few plant species. Osmotic adjustment (OA) ranged from 1.6 MPa for the Botrycephalae to 3.4 MPa for Juliflorae at RWC of 60%. Active osmoregulation in the second phase was lower for the Botrycephalae and Phyllodineae than for the Juliflorae and Plurinerves. Although the germplasm was collected within a narrow and relatively high m.a.r. band, the sections with arid and semiarid relatives (Juliflorae and Plurinerves) still retained a higher degree of xeromorphic character and drought tolerance as determined by the growth responses and the higher capacity for OA.

The occurrence of dry rainforest in climates considered drier than the recognised limit for rainforest has been explained by the edaphic compensation hypothesis, which proposed that finer-textured soils facilitate the occurrence of rainforest at climatic extremes.We Tested this by examining the effect of soil type on the water relations and plant traits of four dry rainforest species, during a severe drought and subsequent non-drought periods. We predicted plants growing in sandy soils would exhibit higher levels of water stress (lower predawn water potential and stomatal conductance) and possess morphological and physiological traits that more typically reflect drought resistance (late leaf fall in deciduous species, low specific leaf area, vertical leaf angles and stomata that close at low water potential) than those growing in loam soils. During drought, levels of water stress were similar across soil types, while post-drought plants on sandy soils were less stressed. Soil type did not cause shifts in drought tolerance traits, suggesting there has been no ecotypic differentiation of dry rainforest species across soil types for these traits. Hence, we found no support for the edaphic compensation hypothesis in adult plants; future studies should consider other life-cycle stages, such as seedlings.

In less predictable, drier climates depth, duration and season (month) of flooding influence not only germination and establishment of wetland plants but also completion of the life cycle through to sexual or asexual reproduction. A tank trial was carried out to investigate the effects of season (summer, autumn), duration (0–16 weeks) and depth of flooding (0–60 cm) and their interactions on sexual reproduction of a range of aquatic plant species. Seed bank material was collected from four New England wetlands in New South Wales, Australia. The majority of species germinating and establishing in the summer experiment were able to flower and set seed. In contrast, few of the plants growing during autumn had flowered after 16 weeks and biomass production was significantly reduced. For obligate submerged species flooding duration must be long enough to allow reproductive organs to form and for fertilisation and seed maturation to occur. Amphibious plants, in contrast, in particular those that respond morphologically to water presence or absence, had inflorescences emerging under a wide range of conditions, i.e. out of the water column when submerged, damp or spending only a portion of the life cycle submerged. Terrestrials established in autumn only in the damp treatments. A significant correlation was found for the dominant species from the amphibious and submerged groups between plant biomass and the number of reproductive units produced. Hence, diaspore production of wetland species is often a function of biomass production.