Morpho-anatomical traits for preliminary screening of mulberry (Morus spp.) genotypes for moisture stress

Preliminary selection of mulberry (Morus spp.) genotypes for drought tolerance/resistance was done by following a joint scoring technique on multiple parameters like, stomatal frequency, stomatal size, leaf thickness and cuticle thickness. Using this technique a total of twenty one genotypes were selected from a population of forty for further evaluation. The selected genotypes would be evaluated under hot spot condition for getting a sustainable, high yielding, drought resistant mulberry. Ranking on the basis of scoring of each genotype separately for individual morpho-anatonical traits showed that three genotypes, No. 50, 4 and 5 were the top scorers with high leaf thickness values and less stomatal size. Similarly, genotypes with minimum stomatal size, more leaf and cuticle thickness were ranked high. Genotypes exhibiting significant superiority for any three of the four parameters over the check were considered for selection. The joint score technique was therefore used here as a screening tool for Its ease and effectiveness to select mulberry genotypes on the basis of multiple characters.