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Screening of Onion (Allium cepa L.) Genotypes for Drought Tolerance Using Physiological and Yield Based Indices
Pranjali A Gedam1, A Thangasamy1, Dhananjay V Shirsat1
1ICAR-Directorate of Onion and Garlic Research, Rajgurunagar, India.
Frontiers in Plant Science
|February 26, 2021
Summary
Breeding for drought tolerance in onions is crucial. This study identified 100 onion genotypes, pinpointing specific tolerant varieties like Acc. 1656 and Acc. 1658, which exhibited high drought tolerance efficiency and minimal yield loss.
Area of Science:
- Plant breeding
- Agronomy
- Genetics
Background:
- Drought stress is a major constraint to global onion production.
- Developing drought-tolerant onion varieties is essential for food security and agricultural sustainability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To screen 100 onion genotypes for drought tolerance using multivariate analysis.
- To identify onion genotypes with superior drought tolerance for breeding programs.
Main Methods:
- Controlled rainout shelter experiments over two years (2017-2019).
- Screening based on drought tolerance efficiency (DTE), percent bulb yield reduction, and multivariate analyses (cluster, discriminant, principal component).
- Evaluation of phenotypic, physiological, biochemical, and yield attributes under control and drought stress conditions.
Main Results:
- Significant genotypic and treatment differences were observed for all evaluated parameters.
- Bulb yield positively correlated with membrane stability index (MSI), relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll content, antioxidant activity, and leaf area.
- Tolerant genotypes (e.g., Acc. 1656, Acc. 1658, W-009, W-085) showed high DTE (>90%) and low yield loss (<20%).
- Highly sensitive genotypes (Acc. 1627, Acc. 1639) exhibited over 70% yield loss.
Conclusions:
- Specific onion genotypes possess favorable adaptive traits for drought tolerance.
- Identified tolerant genotypes can be utilized in breeding programs to develop climate-resilient onion varieties.
- Multivariate analysis effectively categorized genotypes based on their response to drought stress.
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