1: The Role of Water in Plant Life 1.1: Functions of Water in the Plant Box 1.1: Light and water - prerequisites of photosynthesis 1.2: Adaptation Strategies of Plants to Overcome Water Shortage 1.3: Water and Net Primary Production 1.4: Water and Type of Vegetation 2: The Role of Water in Soil 2.1: Soil Genesis and Soil Functions 2.2: Soil Fauna and Vegetation Cover 3: The Interdependence of Soil Water and Vegetation 3.1: The Significance of the Soil for Water Storage 3.2: Transpiration and Seepage of Water with Different Types of Vegetation 4: Properties and Energy State of Water 4.1: Physical-Chemical Properties 4.2: The Concept of Water Potential and the Darcy Equation 5: Water Storage and Movement in Soil 5.1: Fundamentals and Principles Box 5.1: Measuring soil water 5.2: Evaporation 5.3: Infiltration and Water Transport Box 5.2: Soil structure and preferential flow 6: The Root - the Plant's Organ for Water Uptake 6.1: The Role of the Root in the Plant 6.2: Structure of the Root Tip Box 6.1: Methods of studying roots 6.3: Root Systems 7: The Water Balance of the Plant 7.1: Water Potentials in Plant Cells 7.2: Water Uptake by Roots Box 7.1: Early experiments for determining water suction and water pressure of roots 7.3: Transpiration by Leaves 7.4: The Action of Stomatal Guard Cells 7.5: Water Transport within the Plant 7.6: Water Potentials in Plants Box 7.2: Searching for the cause of sap ascent 8: The Plant as a Link between Soil and Atmosphere:an Overview 8.1: The Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum (SPAC) 8.2: Potential Evapotranspiration Box 8.1: Potential evaporation 8.3: Relations between Potential Evapotranspiration, Soil Water and Transpiration 9: Water Use by Crops 9.1: Growth of Roots and leaves 9.2: Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Transpiration 9.3: Root System Development and Water Uptake 9.4: How Much of the Soil Water is Extractable by Plant Roots? 9.5: Stomatal Control of Water Vapour Loss 9.6: Water Use Throughout the Growing Season 9.7: How to Determine the Components of the Field Water Balance 9.8: Numerical Simulation Box 9.1: How lysimeters work Box 9.2: Measurement of water flow through plants 10: Radiation and Dry Matter Production 10.1: Radiation and Net Photosynthesis of Single Leaves 10.2: Radiation Interception and Dry Matter Accumulation in Crop Stands 11: Water Use and Dry Matter Production 11.1: Relations and their Optimization Box 11.1: The saturation deficit of the air determines transpiration efficiency 11.2: The Transpiration Ratio and a Related Standard 11.3: Water Use and an Estimate of Dry Matter Production 12: Influence of Nutrient Supply on Water Use and Establishment of Yield 12.1: Yield Dependency on Water and Nutrient Supply 12.2: Influence of Nutrient Supply on the Relationship between Water Use and Yield 12.3: Transpiration Efficiency and Fertilizer Application 13: Development of Economic Yield under Inadequate Water Supply 13.1: Physiological Reactions and Assimilate Partitioning 13.2: Economic Yield 13.3: Water Shortage at Different Phenological Stages 13.4: Relation between Water Use and Economic Yield in Principal Crops 14: Water Stress in Plants 14.1: Measuring Water Stress in Plants 14.2: How Plants Perceive Water Stress Box 14.1: Signalling between roots and shoots 15: Climatic Factors Influencing Yield 15.1: Growth-limiting Climatic Factors 15.2: Climate Change 15.3: Plants, Soils and Cropping Pattern in a Changing Environment 16: Breeding for Yield and Water Use 16.1: Comparing Old and New Cultivars 16.2: Future Strategies in Plant Breeding 16.3: Application of Molecular Biology to Improve Crop Performance under Drought 17: Controlling the Soil's Water Balance by Soil Management 17.1: Which of the Balance Components can be Changed? 17.2: Controlling Infiltration 17.3: Controlling Evaporation 17.4: Increasing the Quantity of Extractable Soil Water Box 17.1: Collection of water south of Sahel: a man, a hoe and barren land 17.5: Conservation Tillage 18: Controlling Water Use by Crop Management 18.1: Crop Rotation 18.2: Choice of Species and Cultivars 18.3: Seeding and Stand Density 18.4: Fertilizer Application 19: Irrigation 19.1: Need, Concerns, Problems 19.2: Tapping Water - the Basis of Early Civilizations 19.3: Water Requirement of Crops 19.4: Timing and Adjusting the Application of Water 19.5: Efficient Water Use 19.6: Irrigation Methods 20: Epilogue