Abstract:
Although there has been a lot of research on above-ground traits in relation to reducing the negative effects of water stress, root traits play a dynamic role in acquiring water and mineral nutrients from the soil, suggesting greater emphasis for a sustainable crop production in water-stressed environments. For instance, in a water deficit, the plant's ability to acquire water is determined by the flexibility of its below-ground features, such as root shape and structure. In the current study, 35 genotypes were originally assessed for a range of morphophysiological and yield parameters at soil moisture contents of 100 and 50%. The results of Principal Component Analysis show that under stress, plant height and leaf temperature in PC2 and stomatal conductance and photosynthetic rate in PC1 contributed to the largest variance. Three tolerant and three susceptible genotypes from a smaller sample of six genotypes were subsequently assessed for anatomical and morphological studies on roots at their distinct booting stages. For genotypes that were resistant to drought and those that weren't, there were significant differences in root length, diameter, stele diameter, metaxylem number, breadth, and ratio of stele diameter to root diameter (p 0.05). This study showed that in comparison to susceptible genotypes, drought tolerant genotypes had superior root flexibility in terms of metaxylem quantity and stele diameter. This delivered a good yield through efficient absorption and utilisation of the available soil moisture, provided maintenance costs in water-limited situations, and was cost-effective.
Page(s):
172-172
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Abstract Book on Second International Conference on Recent Approaches in Plant Sciences (RAPS-23) 4-5 May 2023 , Volume: 0, Issue: 0, Year: 2023
Keywords:
drought
,
Crop production
,
morphophysiological
,
Climate change
,
Anatomical plasticity