Unravelling the phosphorus use efficiency associated traits in mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) under low phosphorus condition

Phosphorus (P) deficiency is one of the serious problems affecting plant growth in mungbean in different parts of the world. The root, shoot and biomass related traits were investigated for identifying P-efficient genotypes in 54 mungbean genotypes under low-P (LP) and normal-P (NP) conditions. In this study, the membership function value of P use efficiency of studied traits was used as a compendious index for studying P use efficiency (PUE) in mungbean. Among the studied traits, mean values of total root volume, chlorophyll concentration, root dry weight (RDW) and root to shoot ratio increased >25% under LP condition indicating that these traits are highly responsive to P deficiency. Correlation and stepwise regression analysis revealed that RDW explained most of the variation and could be used as a clear indicator of PUE. The five highly P-efficient genotypes namely, MH 805, M 42, PUSA 9531, EC 398885 and M 209 with high MFVP values may be used for PUE improvement in mungbean.