Enzymatic studies in Sorghum cultivars under peg induced water stress
Abstract
The sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) cultivars M 35-1, Phule Maulee (RSLG-262), Phule Yashoda, Sel-3, Swati 108 and CSH-15 R were screened for drought tolerance under PEG-6000 induced water stress from −2 to −8 bars, on the basis of activities of nitrate reductase, peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase. It was noted that the cultivars CSH-15 R and RSLG-262 were drought tolerant as compared to Phule Yashoda and Swati 108. Among the cultivars studied, Sel-3 and M 35-1 were found to be susceptible to water stress at seedling stage. The study indicated that enzymes like peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase along with nitrate reductase may serve as the indicators for testing the water stress tolerance and may be useful for sorghum breeders to evolve drought tolerant cultivars.
Keywords
Nitrate reductase, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, sorghum, water stress