Characterizing drought-resilient cotton genotypes through morpho-physiological and biochemical traits at flowering stage

作者：Muhammad Yousaf Shani, Allah Ditta, Muhammad Kashif Riaz Khan · 发表于：BMC Plant Biology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s12870-025-07078-5 · 被引用次数：7 · 研究领域：Research in Cotton Cultivation、Seed Germination and Physiology

Drought is a major abiotic stressor significantly reducing global crop productivity by disrupting key morpho-physiological and biochemical processes, including stomatal conductance, photosynthetic efficiency, and water use dynamics. This study systematically assessed the effects of water scarcity on fifty genetically diverse cotton genotypes under three different conditions: normal field capacity (100% FC, monitored by soil moisture weight), moderate drought stress (60% FC), and severe drought stress (40% FC) during the flowering stage, a critical period for crop yield. Key morphological (shoot length, root length, biomass), physiological (relative water content, stomatal conductance), and biochemical traits (antioxidant enzyme activity, oxidative stress markers) were evaluated across all treatments. The results revealed a gradual decline in trait response as drought severity increased, with significant genotype-dependent variations. Histograms captured frequency distribution trends across different stress levels, while principal component analysis (PCA) differentiated trait expressions among genotypes. Pearson’s correlation analysis highlighted strong positive and negative relationships among the traits based on their drought responses. The multi-trait genotype-ideotype distance index (MGIDI) proved to be a valuable tool, identifying G 1 (FH-189), G 2 (FH-453), G 3 (N-5016), G 7 (N-868), G 26 (N-1011), G 44 (FH-941), and G 47 (135 − 44/BB) as the most drought-resistant genot...