Physiological responses of mungbean (Vigna radiata) varieties to drought stress

A pot experiment under polyshed condition was carried out at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur during the period from 27 March 2017 to 5 May 2017 to study the physiological responses of mungbean varieties to drought stress under varying water regimes. The treatments consisted of four mungbean varieties, namely BARI Mung-5, BARI Mung-6, BUmug 2, BUmug 4 and three water regimes viz., 50 to 60% field capacity (FC), 70 to 80% FC and 90 to100% FC which were considered as severe drought stress, moderate drought stress and non-stress, respectively. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with factorial arrangement having four replications. Results indicated that BARI Mung-6 maintained significantly the highest relative water content, leaf water potential, proline content, shoot dry matter and lower rate of electrolyte leakage at 50 to 60% FC (severe drought stress). BUmug 2 showed the lowest performance in terms of all the water relation and physiological characters which indicates its higher sensitivity to severe drought stress. Variety BARI Mung-6 was relatively water stress tolerant than others in respect of physiological adaptations. So, BARI Mung-6 can be a potential variety for cultivation under drought condition where irrigation facility is limited. Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 44(1): 1-11, March 2019