Open Access

ARTICLE

Drought Tolerance in Mung Bean is Associated with the Genotypic Divergence, Regulation of Proline, Photosynthetic Pigment and Water Relation

Mohammad Rafiqul Islam¹, Mohd Mostofa Kamal², Mohammad Faruk Hossain³, Jamil Hossain⁴, Mohammad Golam Azam^4,11, Mst Masuma Akhter⁵, M. Kamrul Hasan⁶, Ibrahim Al-Ashkar⁷, Khalid F. Almutairi⁷, Ayman EL Sabagh^8,*, Md Atikur Rahman⁹, Muhammad Aamir Iqbal¹⁰, Mohammad Sohidul Islam^6,*

1 Agronomy Division, Regional Agricultural Research Station, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Pabna, 6600, Bangladesh
2 Chief Research Scientist, New Edge Microbials, Ltd., Albury, 2641, Australia
3 Horticulture Research Centre, Regional Agricultural Research Station, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Pabna, 6600, Bangladesh
4 Pulses Research Centre, BARI, Pabna, 6600, Bangladesh
5 Agronomy Division, Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute, Dinajpur, 5200, Bangladesh
6 Department of Agronomy, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur, 5200, Bangladesh
7 Department of Plant Production, College of Food and Agriculture, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
8 Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, 33156, Egypt
9 Grassland and Forage Division, National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration, Cheonan, 31000, Korea
10 Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Poonch Rawalakot, Rawalakot, 12350, Pakistan
11 Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh

* Corresponding Authors: Mohammad Sohidul Islam. Email: ; Ayman EL Sabagh. Email:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2023, 92(3), 955-981. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2023.025138

Received 23 June 2022; Accepted 07 October 2022; Issue published 29 November 2022

Abstract

Drought is one of the critical conditions for the growth and productivity of many crops including mung bean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek). Screening of genotypes for variations is one of the suitable strategies for evaluating crop adaptability and global food security. In this context, the study investigated the physiological and biochemical responses of four drought tolerant (BARI Mung-8, BMX-08010-2, BMX-010015, BMX-08009-7), and four drought sensitive (BARI Mung-1, BARI Mung-3, BU Mung-4, BMX-05001) mung bean genotypes under wellwatered (WW) and water deficit (WD) conditions. The WW treatment maintained sufficient soil moisture (22% ± 0.5%, i.e., 30% deficit of available water) by regularly supplying water. Whereas, the WD treatment was maintained throughout the growing period, and water was applied when the wilting symptom appeared. The drought tolerant (DT) genotypes BARI Mung-8, BMX-08010-2, BMX-010015, BMX-08009-7 showed a high level of proline accumulation (2.52–5.99 mg g⁻¹ FW), photosynthetic pigment (total chlorophyll 2.96–3.27 mg g⁻¹ FW at flowering stage, and 1.62–2.38 mg g⁻¹ FW at pod developing stage), plant water relation attributes including relative water content (RWC) (82%–84%), water retention capacity (WRC) (12–14) as well as lower water saturation deficit (WSD) (19%–23%), and water uptake capacity (WUC) (2.58–2.89) under WD condition, which provided consequently higher relative seed yield. These indicate that the tolerant genotypes gained better physiobiochemical attributes and adaptability in response to drought conditions. Furthermore, the genotype BMX- 08010-2 showed superiority in terms of those physio-biochemical traits, susceptibility index (SSI) and stress tolerance index (STI) to other genotypes. Based on the physiological and biochemical responses, the BMX-08010-2 was found to be a suitable genotype for sustaining yield under drought stress, and subsequently, it could be recommended for crop improvement through hybridization programs. In addition, the identified traits can be used as markers to identify tolerant genotypes for drought-prone areas.

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