Comparative Study of Five Legume Species under Drought Conditions

Abstract

Background: Vegetative, reproductive and grain-filling phases are critical developmental stages determined legume’s yield and grain quality. Drought is the key factor affecting legumes ontogeny and production. The main goal of the present study is to compare growth, yield and seed quality of different legume species grown under drought conditions. Methods: Completely randomized design were used in this experiment with five local legume species including faba bean, chickpea, lentil, common vetch and bitter vetch, with five replicates using a net plot size of 20 m2 area (4m*5m) / replicate. Plants were grown at the eastern slopes of Bethlehem governorate (Latitude 31”67, Longitude, 35”24, Altitude of 629 m, with hilly-moderate to steep slope topography) under drought conditions (average rainfall is 260 mm). Growth performance (germination, flowering, fruit set, maturation, harvesting, stem length and branching), yield components (weight of 100-seeds, fresh weight, seed and hay production) and seed quality traits (percentages of dry weight, protein and ash) were evaluated. Result: Significant morphological, yield and grain quality parameters among the evaluated legume genotypes were registered. Positive correlation between branching and total yield was obtained. For economical and sustainable legume grain production, bitter vetch and common vetch could be successfully recommended under drought conditions, whereas faba bean and chickpea cultivation should be excluded from severe drought regions. Significant higher protein content in common vetch, faba bean and lentil was obtained, meanwhile the proximate analysis (dry matter, protein and ash) of the five examined crops found to be slightly high but within the documented international percentage range. Drought seems to be the main factor affecting legumes ontogeny and production, but not the quality parameters.

Agronomic Performance of Chickpea Affected by Drought Stress at Different Growth Stages

“…However, weak correlations between seed yield under irrigated condition and drought stress indicate presence of independent factors regulating yield performance under these conditions. This insignificant association of seed yield under the stress and optimal conditions in our study are consistent with the findings of many previous works [44]. The strong correlations between seed yield and the days to flowering, SB, MSI and RWC, protein content and biomass in both the irrigated and stress treatments (p < 0.05) at vegetative and reproductive stages (Figure 3) demonstrate their use as selection indices for selecting promising genotypes under drought stress.…”

“…Our study indicated that DSI varied between the 40 genotypes, which is in agreement with numerous studies on different crops to differentiate the drought-tolerant and sensitive genotypes [21]. This index is recommended as the most reliable criterion for the identification of tolerant and sensitive genotypes at vegetative and post-vegetative stages [44]. This result was further supported by the results of Pearson's correlation coefficients, where DSI showed significant negative correlation with MSI, RWC, protein content, biomass and seed yield and significant positive correlation with CI and DM.…”

​The Effect of Rhizobacteria in the Reducing drought Stress in Soybean (Glycine max L.)

“…Screening and selection of desirable genotypes for drought tolerance is the first and foremost important step in pulse breeding program (Jincya et al 2019). It has been stated that drought is the most important factor limiting yield and quality in legume production (Basheer-Salimia et al 2021). Inexpensive and short-term studies are needed to solve this problem.…”

​Effect of Rhizobacteria and Microalgae Treatments on Some Physiological and Biochemical Parameters of Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) Grown under Drought Stress

“…Drought is determined as an environmental factor that affects the fertility and productivity of plants (Bartels and Sunkar, 2005;Basheer-Salimia et al 2021). Plant growth, crop productivity and development of plants are restricted as a result of drought and insufficient irrigation.…”