Screening Pigeon Pea Genotypes for Drought Tolerance: A Biochemical Approach

Backgroud: Pigeon pea, being a rainfed crop, suffers water scarcity to a greater extent. The reduction in yield is due to a reduction in photosynthetic rate and the source-sink relationship. The reduction in photosynthesis occurs due to enzyme degradation and also antioxidant production reduction. Methods: Thus, screening of pigeon pea genotypes (18no.) based on the accumulation of proteins, enzymes and antioxidants will be easy to identify drought tolerant species and susceptible species. Result: Among 18 genotypes selected for screening, COPH 2, ICPL12755 and ICPL12974 genotypes are high in proline, epicuticular wax, scavenging enzymes like peroxidase and catalase especially during drought condition than control. The same genotypes were proved with remarkable increase in yields. There are few varieties that show lower amounts of the enzymes along with lesser yield such as CO5, ICPL4777 and ICPL6997. This shows that antioxidant activity and proteins are directly involved in improving yield along with tolerance towards drought condition.