Physiological basis of Moisture Stress Tolerance at Heterotrophic and Flowering Stage in Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana L.)

Finger millet is a nutritionally rich millet crop, predominantly cultivated under rainfed conditions worldwide. The crop's productivity is subject to diverse environmental stresses. The study's principal objective was to evaluate the underlying physiological distinctions among tolerant genotypes (GE-845, KMR-630) and susceptible genotypes (GE-1309, GE-5123) of finger millet. The studies focus on specific morphological, physiological, and biochemical traits contributing to drought tolerance at the heterotrophic and flowering stages, utilizing polyethylene glycol (PEG) and a phenotyping platform facility, respectively. Our findings highlight KMR-630 as the most drought-tolerant genotype, while GE-5123 exhibits pronounced drought susceptibility. Notably, the drought-tolerant KMR-630 genotype exhibits robust seedling vigour during the heterotrophic stage, maintains higher relative water content, increased total chlorophyll levels, mitigated membrane damage, and demonstrates enhanced finger length and above-ground dry matter compared to sensitive genotypes at the flowering stage. These insights offer valuable guidance for developing effective breeding strategies aimed at producing drought tolerant finger millet genotypes.