Mechanism of Interspecific Differences among Four Gramineous Crops in Growth Response to Soil Drying.

Deep Root Water Uptake Ability and Water Use Efficiency of Pearl Millet in Comparison to Other Millet Species

“…1). In a fi eld experiment, Matsuura et al (1996) found similar leaf area ratios for drought-stressed and wellwatered pearl millet plants, but in their experiment drought stress signifi cantly increased the leaf area of barnyard millet, which did not agree with our results. The relatively small leaf area of well-watered pearl millet and barnyard millet in relation to their shoot dry weight (Fig.…”

“…The plant growth analysis by Matsuura et al (1996) indicated that the drought resistance of pearl millet is higher than those of barnyard millet and maize. One of the characteristics of a drought-resistant plant is the deep, wide-spreading, branching root system.…”

Genetics of drought tolerance at seedling and maturity stages in Zea mays L.

“…At seedling stage, it reduced root and shoot growth in maize (Thomas & Howarth, 2000). It increased root length and root weight (Rao & Singh, 2004) while decreased shoot length and its fresh weight (Thakur & Rai, 1984), and root and shoot dry weights in maize (Matsuura et al, 1996;Ali et al, 2011). Drought tolerant cultivars had higher fresh and dry shoot weights in comparison to susceptible ones (Ashraf, 1989).…”

Effect of Pre- and Post-heading Water Deficit on Growth and Grain Yield of Four Millets

“…Deeper rooting would clearly increase crop yield while earlier maturity and high osmotic adjustment had little or no benefit for sorghum and wheat in drought-prone regions (Jordan et al, 1983). Pearl millet showed the most drought tolerance among four gramineous crops under water deficit because it developed roots at deeper soil layers and scarcely reduced total root dry weight under drought during vegetative growth (Matsuura et al, 1996). S.italica and S.glauca decreased leaf area rather than root dry weight under water stress, but P.miliaceum and P. sumatrense decreased root dry weight rather than leaf area at heading (Table 1).…”

“…Some millets with vigorous root development at a deeper soil layer showed more drought tolerance at the vegetative growth stage (Matsuura et al, 1996), but the relationship between root growth and grain yield in millets is still not clear. Little research has been conducted on millets under water stress from the viewpoint of crop science and ecophysiology (Karyudi and Fletcher, 2003;Kono et al, 1987;Parasuraman and Mani, 2001;Pul'man, 1909).…”