PhD Research Scholar Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra and ICAR National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management Pune, Maharashtra, India
Body of Abstract: The occurrence and magnitude of abiotic stresses are increasing due to global climate change. Among the various abiotic stresses, the drought, featured by depleting soil moisture, is major limiting factor for productivity of crops including sugarcane. In addition, it is necessary to minimize water consumption in sugarcane, the major driver of rural economy of the nation. This can be achieved through both the genetic improvement and the resource management approaches. In this context, bio stimulants are gaining importance due to their potential to alleviate soil moisture stress in plants. Hence, experiments were planned to employ high throughput phenomics protocols to assess the threshold of soil moisture tolerance of sugarcane during soil moisture depletion in three genotypes of sugarcane viz., Co 86032, CoM0265, VSI 08005. Images acquired through high resolution (visible range), thermal (IR) and Near InfraRed (NIR) imaging systems at National Plant Phenomics Facility at ICAR-NIASM, were analyzed to assess stress responses of shoots. Image parameters that could differentiate the treatment effects were selected to determine the threshold of stress tolerance and to identify promising bio stimulants. The phenomics protocol could help in identifying the most resilient genotype and bio stimulant non-invasively. Irradiated chitosan and Silixol, used as bio stimulants, could help in enhancing threshold level of tolerance by retaining high tissue water content and absolute green area in plant. This study suggested that the green leaf area, brown leaf area, dry leaf area and yellow leaf area out of more than forty image parameters assessed, could reveal the threshold of stress tolerance of different genotypes of sugarcane and also the efficacy of bio stimulants in alleviating moisture stress at initial growth stages.