Photosynthesis rate, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance were measured at flowering and pod growth stages of 8 cultivars of green gram grown under rainfed conditions during rainy season. The objectives were to relate assimilation to rainfall distribution during reproductive phase, and to find out whether traditional and improved cultivars differed in the level of assimilation and water relations during drought. Drought prevailed during early pod growth in one season and mid-pod growth stage in another season. The results of the field experiments show that drought during early pod growth of green gram reduces assimilation capacity of leaves of subsequent pod growth stage also despite improvement in plant water status. Traditional and improved cultivars did not differ in leaf water potential, photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance or instantaneous transpiration efficiency during drought.
