Sains Malaysiana 47(2)(2018): 295-302

http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2018-4702-11

Identification of Drought Tolerant Maize Genotypes and Seedling based Morpho-Physiological Selection Indices for Crop Improvement

(Pengenalpastian Genotip Jagung yang Tahan Kemarau dan Indeks Pemilihan Morfo-Fisiologi berasaskan Anak Benih untuk Pembaikan Tanaman)

Fahad Masoud Wattoo¹, Rashid Mehmood Rana¹, Sajid Fiaz^2*, Syed Adeel Zafar³, Mehmood Ali Noor⁴, Hafiz Mumtaz Hassan⁵, Muhammad Husnain Bhatti⁶, Shoaib ur Rehman⁴, Galal Bakr Anis⁷ & Rai Muhammad Amir⁸

¹Department of Plant Breeding & Genetics, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

²State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China

³National Key Facility of Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China

⁴Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology and Ecology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100081, China

⁵Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology, Jhang Rd, Faisalabad, Pakistan

⁶Ayub Agriculture Research Institute, Jhang Rd, Faisalabad, Pakistan

⁷Field Crop Research Institute, Agriculture Research Centre, Egypt

⁸Institute of Food and Nutritional Sciences, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Received: 28 May 2017/Accepted: 14 August 2017

ABSTRACT

Maize is an imperative grain crop used as a staple food in several countries around the world. Water deficiency is a serious problem limiting its growing area and production. Identification of drought tolerant maize germplasm is comparatively easy and sustainable approach to combat this issue. Present research was conducted to evaluate 50 maize genotypes for drought tolerance at early growth stage. Drought tolerance was assessed on the basis of several morphological and physiological parameters. Analysis of variance showed significant variation among the tested maize genotypes for recorded parameters. Principal component analysis revealed important morpho-physiological traits that were playing key role in drought tolerance. Correlation studies depicted significant positive correlation among the attributes such as fresh shoot length (FSL), fresh root length (FRL), dry shoot weight (DSW), dry root weight (DRW), relative water contents (RWC) and total dry matter (TDM) while a strongly negative correlation was observed among RWC and excised leaf water loss. Results concluded that the parameters fresh shoot weight, fresh root weight, FRL, DRW, TDM, cell membrane thermo stability (CMT) and RWC can be useful for rapid screening of maize germplasm for drought tolerance at early growth stages. Furthermore, the genotypes 6, 16, 18, 40, 45 and 50 can be used as a drought tolerant check in breeding programs. Moreover, biplot analysis along with other indices was proved to be a useful approach for rapid and cost efficient screening of large number of genotypes against drought stress condition.

Keywords: Cell membrane thermo stability; correlation; drought tolerance; principal component analysis; relative water contents

ABSTRAK

Jagung adalah tanaman bijirin penting yang digunakan sebagai makanan ruji di beberapa negara di seluruh dunia. Kekurangan air adalah masalah serius yang membatasi kawasan dan pengeluarannya yang semakin meningkat. Pengenalpastian germplasma jagung yang tahan kemarau adalah pendekatan yang agak mudah dan mampan untuk memerangi isu ini. Penyelidikan kini dijalankan untuk menilai 50 genotip jagung untuk toleransi kemarau pada peringkat pertumbuhan awal. Ketahanan kemarau dinilai berdasarkan beberapa parameter morfologi dan fisiologi. Analisis varians menunjukkan variasi ketara antara genotip jagung yang diuji untuk parameter yang direkodkan. Analisis komponen utama mendedahkan ciri morfo-fisiologi yang memainkan peranan penting dalam ketahanan kemarau. Kajian korelasi menunjukkan korelasi positif yang signifikan antara ciri seperti panjang pucuk segar (FSL), panjang akar segar (FRL), berat pucuk kering (DSW), berat akar kering (DRW), kandungan air relatif (RWC) dan jumlah bahan kering (TDM) manakala korelasi yang sangat negatif diperhatikan dalam kalangan RWC dan mengurangkan kehilangan air daun. Keputusannya menyimpulkan bahawa parameter pucuk berat baru, berat akar segar, FRL, DRW, TDM, kestabilan thermo membran sel (CMT) dan RWC adalah berguna untuk penapisan pantas germplasma jagung untuk ketahanan kemarau pada peringkat pertumbuhan awal. Selain itu, genotip 6, 16, 18, 40, 45 dan 50 boleh digunakan sebagai pemeriksaan ketahanan kemarau dalam program pembiakan. Selain itu, analisis biplot bersama-sama dengan indeks lain telah terbukti merupakan pendekatan yang berguna untuk penapisan pantas dan cekap kos untuk sejumlah besar genotip terhadap keadaan tekanan kemarau.

Kata kunci: Analisis komponen utama; kandungan air relatif; kestabilan thermo membran sel; ketahanan kemarau; korelasi

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*Corresponding author; email: fiazsajid05@yahoo.com