PJB-2023-579
ASSESSMENT OF DROUGHT TOLERANCE IN COTTON GENOTYPES AND A CORRELATIVE INVESTIGATION DURING THE SEEDLING STAGE
Dr. Altaf Hussain Solangi
Abstract
Drought stress stands out as a pivotal limiting factor globally, impeding crop productivity. Among various abiotic stresses, drought detrimentally influences plant growth and development, subsequently impacting yield. The present study utilized a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with a factorial arrangement, incorporating two irrigation treatments—normal and water stress conditions during the seedling stage. The experiment comprised four replications and was conducted at the experimental field of the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics at Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam. Widely cultivated 12 upland cotton cultivars were selected for the study such as CRIS 134, CRIS 342, Chandi, Sadori, Sindh 1, NIAB 78, CIM 496, CIM 499, CIM 534, BH-160 and BT Cotton (Australian Origin), were chosen for the study. These cultivars, known for their diverse characteristics, were selected to evaluate physiological and growth parameters under both water stress and normal conditions. Following evaluated characteristics encompassed number of lateral roots (NLR), leaf area (LA) (cm2), RWC leaf relative water content, shoot length (cm), (ELWL%) excised leaf water loss, root length (cm), (SC) stomatal conductance, and (ST) stomatal density. Analysis of treatment x genotype interactions underscored the variable performance of cotton cultivars across irrigations. Significant impact of water stress were recorded among leaf area, relative water content, excised leaf water loss, root length, sotmatal density, shoot length, number of lateral roots, stomatal conductance. Predominantly positive and significant associations among the traits for correlation coefficient were recorded, except for stomatal conductance, which exhibited a negative association for number of lateral roots, root length and shoot length.
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