Exploiting Morphophysiological Traits for Yield Improvement in Upland Cotton under Salt Stress

ABSTRACT

The increased land salinization threatens land productivity, food security, and economic losses. The study used a comprehensive set of morpho-physiological, biochemical, and fiber quality parameters to examine the genetic variability of 24 cotton genotypes against 15 dSm-1 salt stress. The general linear model (GLM) effect revealed significant effects of salinity for studied accessions except for lint percentage and fiber strength. The genotype × treatment effects were also significant for all studied traits, while non-significant effects were observed for seed number per boll (SNB), potassium to sodium ratio (K+/Na+), K+, peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT). A notable reduction for all traits was observed except for fiber fineness, superoxide (SOD), CAT, POD, carotenoid contents, and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), which were increased under saline conditions. Based on multivariate analyses, hybrids viz. MS-71× KAHKASHAN, followed by MS-71× CRS-2007 and NS-131× CRS-2007, performed well under both normal stressed conditions. Moreover, biochemical and agronomical traits in PCA validate that the MS-71× KAHKASHAN is the most desirable genotype under both conditions. Better hybrid performance under normal and 15 dSm-1 salt stress conditions supports the hybrid adaptability under salinity stress environments. The outcome would assist breeders in developing salt-tolerant cotton varieties under climate change scenarios.

摘要

日益严重的土地盐碱化威胁着土地生产力、粮食安全和经济损失. 本研究使用一套全面的形态生理、生化和纤维品质参数来检测24个棉花基因型对15dSm-1盐胁迫的遗传变异. 一般线性模型（GLM）效应显示，除皮棉百分比和纤维强度外，盐度对所研究材料的影响显著. 基因型×处理对所有研究性状的影响也很显著，而对每铃种子数（SNB）、钾钠比（K+/Na+）、K+、过氧化物酶（POD）和过氧化氢酶（CAT）的影响不显著. 除纤维细度、超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、CAT、POD、类胡萝卜素含量和过氧化氢（H2O2）在生理盐水条件下增加外，所有性状均显著降低. 基于多变量分析，杂交种MS-71×KAHKASHAN、MS-71×CRS-2007和NS-131×CRS-207在两种正常应力条件下都表现良好. 此外，主成分分析中的生化和农艺性状验证了MS-71×KAHKASHAN是两种条件下最理想的基因型. 在正常和15dSm-1盐胁迫条件下更好的杂交性能支持了杂交在盐胁迫环境下的适应性. 这一结果将有助于育种家在气候变化情景下开发耐盐棉花品种.

KEYWORDS:

• Salt tolerance
• productivity enhancement
• fiber quality
• biochemical traits
• multivariate analysis
• variety development

关键词:

• 耐盐性
• 提高生产力
• 纤维质量
• 生化性状
• 多元分析
• 品种开发

Acknowledgments

The authors appreciate the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2023R403), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for funding this research. Authors acknowledge the Department of Plant Breeding, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan, for providing cotton genotypes used in the current study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15440478.2023.2282048

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article. The authors appreciate the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2023R403), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for funding this research.