Morpho-physiological and Biochemical Responses of Camelina (Camelina sativa crantz) Genotypes under Drought Stress

Camelina (Camelina sativa) a member of mustard family is being introduced as an alternate oilseed crop. Camelina is disease resistant, low input requiring crop with a short life cycle (80-100 days). The purpose of this study was to assess the response of camelina genotypes for seedling growth, gas exchange traits and some biochemical attributes under drought stress. Plants of two different camelina genotypes (7126 and 8046) were grown in pots maintained with four drought stress levels i.e., control (100% FC) and water stress (80, 60 and 40% FC). Drought stress significantly decreased shoot and root length, shoot and root fresh weight and their dry weights, photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (g(s)), transpiration rate (E) and soluble proteins while free proline, soluble sugars and amino acid content increased in both camelina genotypes. Genotype 7126 showed better response regarding seedling traits, gas exchange traits and had higher accumulation of free proline, soluble sugars, amino acids and soluble proteins as compared to genotype 8046 at all drought stress levels. The results suggested that the drought tolerance potential of camelina is positively associated with the regulation of gas exchange characteristics and accumulation of osmoprotectants. (C) 2017 Friends Science Publishers