A Hydroponic Approach to Evaluate Morpho-physiological and Biochemical Responses of Kodo Millet (Paspalum Scrobiculatum) Genotypes Against Calcium Chloride Stress

Abstract

Kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum) belongs to the family Poaceae, and is locally known as rice grass, ditch millet and cow grass. Kodo millet is one of the small grain cereals with an ability to tolerate the biotic and abiotic stresses. Soil salinity is one of the major stresses especially in arid and semi-arid regions leads to reduced yields. Some of the millet species have developed adaptive mechanism to overcome the salinity stress and hence, thorough screening of the germplasm through hydroponics or field testing is essential to identify the potential genotypes. Plant response of salinity stress towards morphological, physiological, biochemical features have been delineated. In our work we studied the morphological, physiological and biochemical responses of six genotypes of kodo millet (IPS 145, IPS 610, IPS 351, IC 382888, IPS 583 and IC 426676) against CaCl2 salinity through hydroponic experiment. Germinated seeds were grown in beakers supplemented with Hoagland nutrient solution containing CaCl2 (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mM) for about 120 hours and the data was collected for every 18 hours interval on root length, shoot length, Germination Index (GI), Germination Energy (GE), Seedling Vigour Index (SVI), Polyphenol Oxidase (PPO), Peroxidase (POD) and Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) . Among all the varieties IC 426676 and IPS 583 showed highest CaCl2 concentration when compared to other genotypes.