Author(s):

Diware RA and SV Damame

Abstract: The present investigation was conducted to find out water stress tolerance in lucerne cultivars using biochemical markers. The lucerne cultivars were grown in pots for 45 days, thereafter water stress was imposed by -0.25 MPa PEG-6000 solution. The leaves of control and stressed plants were analyzed for osmolytes accumulation and activities of antioxidant enzymes. The stressed leaves showed decline in relative water and total chlorophyll content than unstressed. The cultivar Anand-2 recorded the highest RLWC (76%), followed by RL-10-01 (75%). Under the stressed condition, the highest total chlorophyll content was observed in the cultivar RL-10-01, followed by RL-10-02 with 1.10 mg g^-1 FW and 1.05 mg g^-1 FW, respectively. Overall the osmolytes, proline and glycine betaine were increased under water stress condition. Water stressed leaves of cultivars, Anand-2 and RL-10-01 accumulated higher proline content of 14.72 and 13.88 μmoles g^-1 FW, respectively, whereas glycine betaine accumulated higher in Anand-2, followed by RL-10-01 with 24.98 and 22.82 μmoles g^-1 FW, respectively. The activities of anti-oxidative enzymes, ascorbate peroxidase and superoxide dismutase were higher under water stress. The higher ascorbate peroxidase activity of 651.35 and 612.67 ɳmoles ascorbate oxidized mg^-1 protein min^-1 and superoxide dismutase activity of 95.0 and 92.0 units mg^-1 protein was recorded by Anand-2 and RL-10-01, respectively under water stress condition. The lowest lipid peroxidation rate was observed in Anand-2 and RL-10-01, whereas the highest nitrate reductase activity was recorded in Anand-2, followed by RL-10-01 with 386.6 and 358.3 ɳmoles NO₂^- formed g^-1 FW h^-1, respectively under water stress condition. The biochemical study revealed that cultivars, Anand-2 and RL-10-01 could be used as promising donors for inducing drought tolerance characters in breeding programme.

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