Unveiling Drought Tolerant Cotton Genotypes: Insights from Morpho-Physiological and Biochemical Markers at Flowering

Drought stress substantially restricts cotton growth, decreasing cotton production potential worldwide. This study evaluated cotton genotypes at the flowering stage to identify drought-resilient genotypes under moderate and severe drought conditions using physio-morphic and biochemical markers. Five genotypes were examined in a completely randomized design with three replicates across three treatments. Growth and biochemical traits were measured after 14 days of drought stress. The Multi-trait Genotype-Ideotype Distance Index (MGIDI) identified the most drought-tolerant genotypes. Severe drought had a pronounced negative effect on growth and biochemical traits, followed by moderate drought. Among the genotypes, FH-912 exhibited the strongest resilience, with significant increases in proline, peroxidase, catalase, and total chlorophyll. In contrast, chlorophyll a and transpiration rates were largely unaffected. Genotypes VH-351, VH-281, and GH-99 showed moderate drought tolerance, while FH-556 was highly sensitive to water stress. Statistical analyses, including ANOVA, PCA, and heatmaps, confirmed FH-912's superior performance under drought stress. The drought-resilient genotype, FH-912, holds promise for breeding drought-tolerant cotton varieties to sustain cotton productivity in water-limited environments, especially in drought-prone regions.