Book of Extended summaries ISDA

International Conference on Reimagining Rainfed Agro-ecosystems: Challenges &
Opportunities during 22-24, December 2022 at ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad
T5-30P-1350
Hyperspectral Reflectance: A Promising Tool to Assess the Metabolic Responses to
Drought Stress in Sugarcane
Vinay Hegde 1,2* , Debasmita Mohanty 1 and Jagadish Rane 1
1 ICAR National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management, Baramati, Maharashtra
2 Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra.
* vinayhegde4189@gmail.com
The deterioration of ecological balance and global climate anomalies have led to enhanced
frequencies of water scarcity, and drought is emerged as a major impediment to the expansion
of agricultural production. This emphasizes enhanced impetus to development of drought
tolerant cultivars that can be climate smart. The approaches being currently followed are not
sufficient to achieve this target though there have been significant advances in our
understanding about the mechanisms of tolerance to soil moisture stress and possible
application of genomics for genetic improvement of crops. In this context, the underlying
bottleneck in understanding the manoeuvrable phenotypic responses are being addressed
through phenomics. This advanced approach of characterizing plants depends on non-invasive
techniques involving different sensors and automation, Hyperspectral sensors have great
potential to reveal genetic variability in responses of crop plants to environmental stimuli
including those due to drought. By integrating this technique in high-throughput field
phenomics, hyperspectral signatures could be more effectively utilized to address the breeding
challenges posed by global climate change. For breeding and management strategies to be
beneficial in increasing water usage efficiency, it is essential to have deeper insights into
drought impacts on crops at different scales starting from whole plant to cellular level. In order
to develop a rapid and non-destructive substitute for conventional methods of evaluating plant
traits related to drought response, we employed hyperspectral measurement technique for
detection of proline, the key stress metabolite generated by plants during stress. We assessed
spectral signatures in leaves of sugarcane seedling exposed to drought in a glasshouse. Leaf
metabolite concentrations, as contrasted to physiological features, detected drought stress
before it was perceptible to the naked eye with validation of R 2 value. The results of our
experiments explain the efficacy of hyperspectral data to the detection of a proline in response
to stress in plants. These scientific leads can be carried forward to design phenomics protocols
for screening large number of genotypes of sugarcane for identification of relevant genes
contributing to drought tolerance. These can also guide decision support systems to design
precision agriculture.
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