1. Can be a valuable aid to determine the irrigation demand of field crops
In order to use the pressure bomb as a tool for irrigation scheduling, pressure bomb data have to be correlated with soil water potential data (using the neutron probe, and potential evapotranspiration). With this relationship, it is possible to characterize, also based on the soil type, the irrigation scheduling for any specific crop.
2. Sap collection for chemical analysis
Several studies have been done using this device to collect plant sap in order to analyze and measure the solutes in different species. Even though, most experimental data have shown that cell sap obtained by this method has very low concentration of solutes, and that sometimes those solutes have been termed as pure water; however, the use of the pressure bomb might be useful in this type of research.
3. Pressure volume curves
The pressure bomb can be used to obtain pressure-volume curves for research studies. These curves may indicate the turgor of leaf cells and the water deficit of a plant. In other words, besides the leaf turgor potential, pressure-bomb curves reflects the degree of hydration in plants.
4. Salinity studies
The total water potential, which describes the energy of the water contained in the plant can be estimated from leaf water potential (LWP) measurements, by the use of the pressure bomb in salinity studies. The major components of LWP are leaf osmotic potential (LOP) and leaf turgor potential (LTP).
Leaf water potential and leaf osmotic potential can be measured directly by the use of the pressure bomb and the vapor pressure osmometer, respectively. The LTP can be estimated by the equation LTP = LWP - LOP. In some salinity studies with halophytes the general pattern may be with each increase in the external salinity level, a gradual decrease (more negative values) in LWP and LOP occurs, which may indicate plants adjust osmotically for each increase of salinity in the external medium.