Effect of water logging on physiobiochemical attributes of muleberry (Morus alba L)

Mulberry plants grown under field conditions were subjected to water logging for 5, 10, and 15 days prior to harvesting leaves for silkworm rearing. Relative water content of leaves increased gradually with the duration of water logging. An increase in loss of electrolytes and amino acids into the incubation medium indicated impaired membrane integrity with excess water stress. Among the photosynthetic pigments, chlorophylls, but not the carotenoids, appeared most vulnerable to flooding. A negative correlation was found between, the duration of water logging and titre of some primary metabolites like total soluble sugar, total soluble protein and RNA. The ethylene gradually increased upto 10 days stagnation of flood water, and then declined sharply.