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Article

Cotton Genotypic Variability for Transpiration Decrease with Progressive Soil Drying

by
Mura Jyostna Devi
* and
Vangimalla Reddy
USDA-ARS-NEA, Adaptive Cropping Systems Laboratory, Beltsville Agriculture Research Center, USDA-ARS, 10300 Baltimore Avenue, Bldg 001, Rm 342, BARC-W, Beltsville, MA 20705, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Agronomy 2020, 10(9), 1290; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10091290
Submission received: 23 May 2020 / Revised: 20 August 2020 / Accepted: 26 August 2020 / Published: 31 August 2020

Abstract

Drought is a major abiotic stress factor limiting cotton yield. It is important to identify the genotypes that can conserve water under drought stress conditions and improve yield. The objective of the current study was to evaluate cotton genotypes for water conservation traits, i.e., high FTSW (Fraction of Transpirable Soil Water) threshold for transpiration. Plants utilize water slowly by declining transpiration at high FTSW and conserving soil water, which can be used by the plant later in the growing season to improve yield. Fifteen cotton varieties were selected based on their differences in transpiration response to elevated vapor pressure deficit (VPD) to study drought responses. Two pot experiments were carried out in the greenhouse to determine the FTSW threshold for the transpiration rate as the soil dried. A significant variation (p < 0.01) in the FTSW threshold values for transpiration decline was observed, ranging from 0.35 to 0.60 among cotton cultivars. Genotypes with high FTSW thresholds also displayed low transpiration under well-watered conditions. Further studies with four selected genotype contrasts in FTSW threshold values for transpiration showed differences (p < 0.05 to 0.001) in gas exchange parameters and water potentials. This study demonstrated that there are alternate traits among the cotton genotypes for enhancing soil water conservation to improve yield under water-limited conditions.
Keywords: cotton; drought; fraction of transpirable soil water; photosynthesis; transpiration; water potential cotton; drought; fraction of transpirable soil water; photosynthesis; transpiration; water potential

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MDPI and ACS Style

Devi, M.J.; Reddy, V. Cotton Genotypic Variability for Transpiration Decrease with Progressive Soil Drying. Agronomy 2020, 10, 1290. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10091290

AMA Style

Devi MJ, Reddy V. Cotton Genotypic Variability for Transpiration Decrease with Progressive Soil Drying. Agronomy. 2020; 10(9):1290. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10091290

Chicago/Turabian Style

Devi, Mura Jyostna, and Vangimalla Reddy. 2020. "Cotton Genotypic Variability for Transpiration Decrease with Progressive Soil Drying" Agronomy 10, no. 9: 1290. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10091290

APA Style

Devi, M. J., & Reddy, V. (2020). Cotton Genotypic Variability for Transpiration Decrease with Progressive Soil Drying. Agronomy, 10(9), 1290. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10091290

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