Analysis of growth indices of seven mothbean genotypes as affected by supplemental irrigation under water limiting environment

Abstract

Drought stress during critical stages of growth i.e. before the onset of flowering is major detrimental factor for mothbean cultivation in arid and semiarid regions. Therefore, experiment was conducted to assess the effect of supplemental irrigation on physiology and growth characteristics of seven contrasting genotypes of mothbean, viz. RMO-257, RMO-40, RMB-25, RMO-2251, CZM-45 RMO-225 and RMO-435 under two environments i.e. rainfed (RF) and supplemental irrigation (SI, one irrigation applied at 30 days after sowing (DAS) i.e. before flowering) condition. Results showed that SI significantly increased shoot biomass, chlorophyll content and growth characteristics i.e. leaf area index (LAI), leaf area duration (LAD), net assimilation rate (NAR) and crop growth rate (CGR) as compared to RF condition in mothbean genotypes. Genotype RMO-257 performed better in terms of biomass accumulation and growth traits under RF condition whereas RMO-40 performed well under SI condition as compared to other genotypes. Hence, selection of genotypes and irrigation at critical crop growth stage proved to be beneficial for mothbean cultivation under area of limited water availability.