A. Moradi, A. Ahmadi , A. Hossein Zadeh,
Volume 12, Issue 45 (fall 2008)
Abstract
Drought is a major factor limiting growth and development of crops such as mung bean (Vigna radiate (L.) wilczek) in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of different timing and severity of drought stress on physiological traits of mung bean and its relation to grain yield. A field experiment was carried out during 2004 growing season at Experimental Farm of Agriculture College, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran. The treatments were laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Plants were exposed to moderate and severe water stresses at either vegetative (VS) or reproductive stages (RS). Physiological traits were measured at the end of vegetative and the middle of pod formation. Generally water stress reduced leaf net photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance and leaf relative water content at different growth stages. The effects of RS treatments were more severe than that of VS one. Severe VS treatment increased photosynthetic water use efficiency, whereas RS treatments decreased it significantly. However, leaf area index and total dry matter were more responsive in VS compared to RS treatments. VS treatments did not affect harvest index, while RS treatments reduced it significantly. Drought stress also reduced grain yield by 9 and 49 % (relative to control plants) in severe VS and severe RS treatments, respectively. Therefore irrigation is critical during reproductive stage mainly because of the higher demand for photoassimilate. It is concluded that to maximize mung bean grain yield in arid and semi-arid areas, appropriate watering should be practiced across all phenological stages in general, and during reproductive stage in particular.
