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Assessing Morphological and Physiological Crop Functional Traits of Underutilized Crops in Response to Different Nutrient Amendments in Vindhyan Highlands, India

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Abstract

The cultivated crop is frequently subjected to a variety of environmental challenges including drought, salinity, extreme temperature and low moisture levels. In which, drought stress is major factor, which significantly reduces crop survival and productivity, particularly in semi-arid region of the Vindhyan highlands. In response to this stress, millets and traditional crops have evolved a range of morphological and physiological adaptations to withstand these phenomenon. Therefore, the aim of this study is to characterize the morphological and physiological traits of underutilized crops under different nutrient amendments towards the dry conditions. A plot experiment with four treatments viz. control, compost, fertilizer and compost + fertilizer was conducted for eight crop landraces. The results demonstrate plant morpho-physiological traits as well as production were develop in accordance with following trends such as compost + fertilizer > fertilizer > compost > control. This trend was continued in percentage change of production and highest in white maize (41.97%) and ramrahar (36.93%) compared to control. Soil total nitrogen, organic carbon and available phosphate contents were shown a consistent increase from pre-sowing to post-harvest conditions for both cropping seasons in all the treatments. In the context of eco-physiological traits relation, PSR (Photosynthetic rate) was positively associated with plant height in black maize (R = 0.69 P < 0.01), baturi (R = 0.79 P < 0.01), masoor (R = 0.74 P < 0.01) and senduri (R = 0.78 P < 0.01). However, photosynthetic pigment such as, chl a (R = 0.66 P < 0.05) chl b (R = 0.78 P < 0.01) carotenoids (R = 0.71 P < 0.01) in white maize, while chl a (R = 0.84 P < 0.001), chl b (R = 0.82 P < 0.01) and carotenoids (R = 0.76 P < 0.01) in baturi positively related with PSR. This study can help policymakers to make a climate-adaptive crop system for better production in dry climatic conditions and livelihood improvement of the local community.

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Data Availability

All the data generated or analyzed during this study are available on the reasonable request.

Abbreviations

AP:

Available phosphorus

BD:

Bulk density

Chl a, Chl b :

Chlorophyll a and b

CFTs:

Crop functional traits

EC:

Electrical conductivity

IC:

Intracellular CO2 concentration

iWUE:

Intrinsic water-use efficiency

HSD:

Honestly significant difference

LAI:

Leaf area index

LDMC:

Leaf dry matter contents

NPK:

Nitrogen phosphorous and potassium

ANOVA:

One-way analysis of variance

PSR:

Photosynthetic rate

SC:

Stomatal conductance

SOC:

Soil organic carbon

SLA:

Specific leaf area

SYI:

Sustainable Yield Index

RWC:

Relative water content

WHC:

Water holding capacity

TN:

Total nitrogen

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Dean and Director of Institute of Environment & Sustainable Development, BHU, Varanasi for providing all the necessary facilities. We are also grateful to the Mr. Bholanath Kharwar to provide the agricultural land for plot experiments. SKP would like to acknowledge University Grants Commission, New Delhi for financial support in the form of fellowship.

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  1. Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

    Sanoj Kumar Patel, Anil Sharma, Anil Barla & Gopal Shankar Singh

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  1. Sanoj Kumar Patel
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  2. Anil Sharma
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  4. Gopal Shankar Singh
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Contributions

SP performed the plot study, conceptualized methodology, and prepared the draft of the article as well as formal analysis and writing. AS helped in the field work, data analysis and prepared the early draft, and AB contributed in data analysis and different interpretative graphs. GS conceptualized and supervised the study and approved the final version of manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

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Correspondence to Gopal Shankar Singh.

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Patel, S.K., Sharma, A., Barla, A. et al. Assessing Morphological and Physiological Crop Functional Traits of Underutilized Crops in Response to Different Nutrient Amendments in Vindhyan Highlands, India. Int. J. Plant Prod. 18, 13–33 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42106-023-00272-1

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