Traits related to drought resistance in cotton hybrids

Responses of five hybrid varieties of cotton to moisture stress were assessed in the field for their relative tolerance to drought. The study revealed that moisture deficit adversely affected the chlorophyll stability index and nitrate reductase activity, while proline accumulation enhanced irrespective of varieties. Yield and its attributes decreased conspicuously in all the varieties in response to water stress imposed at flowering stage. Amongst the cotton hybrids, PKV Hy-4 and PKV Hy-2 were noted to be relatively more drought tolerant than others on the basis of assessment of their yield performance. The flowering stage in cotton was found to be more critical to moisture stress than vegetative and ripening stages.