Drought Stress-induced Impact on Morpho-physiological Traits in Maize Landraces of Kashmir Peer Latif Ahmad1,*, Dar Zahoor A.2, Lone Aijaz A.2, Mohd. Bhat Yaqub1 1Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar-190 006, Jammu and Kashmir, India 2Dryland Agriculture Research Station, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Budgam-191 111, Jammu and Kashmir, India *Corresponding Author: Latif Ahmad Peer, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar-190 006, Jammu and Kashmir, India, Email: peerlatif@gmail.com
Online Published on 05 January, 2024. Abstract Background Drought is the critical abiotic stress constraining the productivity of maize and lack of germplasm possessing drought tolerance results in low maize productivity in Kashmir. Because only 15% of the land in Kashmir Valley is irrigated and 85% of the land is rainfed, maize landrace evaluation for drought desirable traits becomes important. Methods To identify elite genotypes for drought tolerance, seventy maize landraces designated as K-L 1 to K-L 70 from Kashmir were evaluated for morpho-physiological traits: shoot height, shoot biomass, root depth, root biomass allocation, shoot to total biomass, root to total biomass, relative water content, canopy temperature, cell membrane stability and chlorophyll content. Result A significant decrease in root and shoot traits, relative water content, cell membrane stability, chlorophyll content and a significant increase in canopy temperature was recorded under drought conditions. The evaluation led to identifying landraces exhibiting desirable traits for drought tolerance that would prove useful for further crop improvement. Top Keywords Cell membrane stability, Drought stress, Elite genotypes, Morphophysiological traits, Relative water content. Top |