Book of Extended summaries ISDA

International Conference on Reimagining Rainfed Agro-ecosystems: Challenges &
Opportunities during 22-24, December 2022 at ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad
to the efficient functioning of the cell organelle which is reciprocated in the relationship of the
membrane injury index with the physiological and yield attributes. The membrane injury index
has shown to have a strong negative relationship with the relative water content (-0.97), total
chlorophyll content (-0.98), grain yield (-0.98) and the number of grains per plant (-0.98). The
sorghum genotypes capable of avoiding damages to the membranes are more capable of
producing photo-assimilates and reducing water losses from the leaf tissues in-turn resulting in
better yields. Figure 2 describes the relationships of the root parameters such as root length,
root volume, root diameter and root biomass. The grain yield has shown a positive relationship
with the root length (0.69), root volume (0.78), root biomass (0.89 for root fresh weight and
0.71 for root dry weight). The longer roots are capable of absorbing water from the deeper
layers of soil regime when they face reduced availability of moisture in the upper layers. The
large volume and greater biomass represent the superior establishment of the roots aiding the
sorghum plants to better absorb the water and nutrients from the soil. The negative association
of the root diameter with the grain yield (-0.41) is because the spreading of roots in the upper
layers of the soil regime is not beneficial to plant growth.
407 | Page Managing genetic resources for enhanced stress tolerance