Effects of Water Regime, Genotype, and Formative Stages on the Agro-Physiological Response of Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) to Drought

Drought during the formative stages of a plant’s growth triggers a sequence of responses to maintain optimal growing conditions, but often at the expense of crop productivity. Two field experiments were conducted to determine the effect of drought on 10 high-yielding sugarcane genotypes at two formative stages (the tillering stage (TS) and stalk elongation (SS)), within 30 days after treatment imposition. The experiments followed a split-plot in a randomized complete block design with three replicates per genotype. Agro-physiological responses to drought were observed to compare the differences in the response of sugarcane during the two formative stages. Drought significantly reduced total chlorophyll content (Chl) and stomatal conductance (Gs) for both formative stages, while significantly increasing total scavenging activity (AOA) and electrolyte leakage (EC). A higher level of Chl was observed in the stalk elongation stage compared to the tillering stage; however, lower AOA coupled with higher EC in the stalk elongation stage suggests higher drought susceptibility. Pearson's correlation analysis revealed a stronger correlation between plant height, internode length, Chl, AOA, EC, and Gs at the tillering stage relative to the stalk elongation stage. Moreover, results from the multivariate analysis indicate the different contribution values of each parameter, supplementing the hypothesized difference in response between the two formative stages. Multivariate analysis clustered the 10 genotypes into groups based on the traits evaluated, suggesting the ability of these traits to detect differences in a sample population. The observed relationship among traits during the two formative stages of sugarcane will be significant in screening and identifying drought-susceptible and drought-tolerant genotypes for variety development studies.