Effect of dehydration stress on delayed luminescence in plant leaves

The effect of dehydration stress on delayed luminescence in plant leaves was investigated with rose (Rosa hybrida) leaves. The delayed luminescence increased substantially during the initial dehydration stress, and then started to decrease rapidly. This result, suggests that mild dehydration caused the leaves to produce more photons, but severe dehydration might destroy the leaves' metabolism. This finding can be applied to preserve the quality of and control vegetables and flowers whose current conditions lack objective and quantitative non-invasive measurement systems.