Study on variation in photosynthetic area and pigments during different phenological stages of small millets

Abstract

Despite the high yield potential and wider adaptability, the productivity of small millets is low compared to major millets and cereals. This is mainly due to the lack of research on yield and its contributing traits such as photosynthesis on these marginalised crops. To accomplish this, a comprehensive study was taken up to in a pot culture experiment with six cultivated small millets, viz., finger millet (CO15), little millet (CO4), barnyard millet (CO2), proso millet (CO5), foxtail millet (CO7) and kodo millet (CO3) during Rabi, 2018 to explore the photosynthesis and its related traits involved in yield production. The photosynthetic area and pigments were analysed in this study which are considered as vital traits for photosynthesis process. In this study, it is observed that that there was a considerable variation in photosynthetic area and pigments concentration in leaves among the six small millets studied. But there was no positive correlation observed between leaf area and the concentration of photosynthetic pigments. The highest leaf area was measured in finger millet and the highest contents of photosynthetic pigments, chlorophyll a, b, total and carotenoid recorded in proso millet at flowering stage.