INCREASING THE ACCURACY OF MEASURING WATER USE EFFICIENCY AND ITS COMPONENT PHYSIOLOGICAL TRAITS USING HIGH THROUGHPUT PHENOMICS FACILITY
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Date
2019-08-17
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UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, GKVK, BENGALURU
Abstract
Saving water under the irrigated condition and maximizing productivity under rainfed condition are the most important goals globally. The premise of the current investigation was to, therefore, develop suitable high throughput phenotyping options and assess genetic variability in specific physiological traits among groundnut genotypes. Water use and water use efficiency (WUE) are considered as the most prominent traits that can sustain growth as well as save water. The recently established Mini-LysiMeter (MLM) based phenomics platform with its ability to accurately measure water use formed the basis for this study. Non-invasive imaging approaches are gaining relevance in plant phenotyping. A LASER based 3D scanner PlantEye, was used in this investigation to monitor growth in real-time. The MLM platform combined with the 3D scanner was standardized to enhance the accuracy of measuring WUE.
A set of 15 groundnut cultivars were evaluated and significant genetic variability in water use, WUE, and other related physiological parameters were observed. A closer examination of a few contrasting genotypes revealed the relevance of carboxylation efficiency as an important determinant of WUE in groundnut. The groundnut genotypes such as GKVK-5 can be effectively used to sustain yields under water-limited rainfed conditions.