Evaluation of drought tolerance in sugarcane genotypes using the membership function value of drought tolerance (MFVD)

Abstract

Abstract Drought is a worldwide problem seriously influencingsugarcane (SaccharumL. spp. hybrids) production. The long-term domestication and selective breeding in artificial environments may have reduced the drought resistance of sugarcane. The objective of this study was to determine drought tolerance in a 138-genotype of elite sugarcane hybrids using the membership function value of drought tolerance (MFVD) based on the drought-tolerant coefficient (DC) of four yield traits (biomass, stalk weight, stalk diameterand stalk height) and bud survival rate (SR) at different growth stage under well-watered (WW) and water-stressed (WS) conditions. As expected, genotype means decreased for all five traits with WS, and the decrease of biomass, stalk weight, stalk diameter, stalk height and bud survival rate (SR) was >24%. Correlation coefficients analysis revealed that the MFVD was significantly positively correlated with the DCB, DCSW, DCSH and DCSD at the growth stage and SR at the seedling stage. Results indicated that these characters were closely related to the drought resistance of sugarcane. Thus, these five traits could be used as drought resistance indicators for screening drought resistance cultivars in sugarcane. The MFVD based on the DC of each yield traits and SR indicated that ten out of the138 sugarcane hybrids had high drought resistance, while 14 genotypes were highly susceptible to the drought, which can be used as ideal experimental materials to study the mechanism of sugarcane genotypes with contrasting drought sensitivities in response to drought stress. Our results help to fill the knowledge gap regarding to the sugarcane production under stress, shed light on sugarcane drought tolerance and provided useful information to the sugarcane breeders and producers which could be used in variety selecting and developing for dry prone regions.