Response of french bean varieties to water deficit: Changes in morphological characters and yield attributes

Six promising varieties of french bean were tested for their performance of growth and yield under the conditions of water stress in pot culture experiment. There was greater reduction in plant height with stress at vegetative and flowering stages as compared to fruiting stage. The variety, Arka Komal maintained a higher leaf number under non-limiting conditions of moisture regimes at flowering and fruiting stages. The pod yield and its attributes were high in Arka Komal under the conditions of moisture sufficiency. The variety, IIHR-909 showed a decline in the number of leaves and leaf area under stress and collapsed under extreme stress. There was reduction in specific leaf weight in all the varieties with prolonged duration of stress given at vegetative stage. The variety, Contender showed a stable leaf production under both stress and irrigated conditions. The survival of plants and yield were most affected due to stress at flowering stage, followed by that at fruiting stage. The variety, Contender could withstand extreme stress at flowering stage to give good pod yield.