Effect of flooding on growth and biochemical parameters in garden pea (Pisum sativum L.)

In the present study, field grown five pea cultivars viz., MA-6, Arkel, Pb-87, Pb-88 and Pb-89 were exposed to flooding stress at vegetative (15 DAS) and reproductive (45DAS) stages for 24 and 48 h durations. Flooding stress adversely affected the growth parameters such as plant height, shoot and root dry weight in all the five cultivars. Flooding led to a reduction in chlorophyll content, total soluble sugars in leaves and roots and total soluble proteins in roots. Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and cellulase activity were found to enhance after flooding stress. Reproductive stage was noted more sensitive to flooding damage compared with vegetative stage. Longer flooding durations were more detrimental to plant growth and development. Among the cultivars, Pb-88 and Pb-89 were least affected, while Arkel showed maximum effect of flooding stress.