Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences Journal of Applied Biotechnology Reports 2322-1186 12 2 2025 06 01 Evaluation of Genetic Variability, Phenotypic Stability and Interrelationships among the Quantitative Traits of Sugarcane under Drought Stress 1652 1667 225680 10.30491/jabr.2024.463598.1747 EN Ramaswamy Manimekalai ICAR- Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641 007, India 0000-0001-9901-5234 Arockia Jain Mary ICAR- Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641 007, India 0000-0001-9503-7073 K Mohanraj ICAR- Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641 007, India Jini Narayanan ICAR- Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641 007, India Ram Vanish ICAR- Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641 007, India K.P Mrudula ICAR- Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641 007, India J. Saranya ICAR- Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641 007, India M. Gokul ICAR- Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641 007, India Rajeev Kumar ICAR- Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow, India Ranjit Singh Gujjar ICAR- Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow, India Selvi Athiappan ICAR- Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641 007, India S. Vasantha ICAR- Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641 007, India Govinda Kurup Hemaprabha ICAR- Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641 007, India Journal Article 2024 06 18 Introduction: Drought is a serious abiotic stress that leads to low sugarcane productivity. The complex polyploidy and lack of heritability information for drought tolerance make breeding more difficult. Yield is a polygenic trait influenced by several phenological and physiological factors. Assessing the variability, correlation and heritability of various traits under water deficit conditions is imperative. In the present study, we measured 14 traits contributing to drought resistance and yield under control (well-watered) and drought (water-stressed) conditions. Materials and Methods: Around 14 quantitative traits for a large population of 119 progenies cross BO 91 x Co 775 were evaluated. The agronomic traits, which included 6 morphological traits, germination%, tillers, cane height, internodal length, stalk diameter, and internodes in a stalk; 2 physiological traits, such as total chlorophyll content and chlorophyll fluorescence; and 6 yield-contributing traits, including single cane weight (SCW), number of millable canes (NMC), cane yield, Brix%, Pol%, and commercial cane sugar (CCS)%, were measured for each clone. Results: Our multivariate analysis revealed a significant difference among the treatments, genotypes, and G × E interactions. Path analysis revealed that SCW had a positive direct effect on cane yield. Here, we suggest that the traits of tiller number, total chlorophyll content, SCW, and NMC could effectively evaluate drought-tolerant genotypes. Conclusions: This formulated study with significant findings of phenotypic stability serves as a potential parameter for breeders in selecting genotypes for arid/semiarid regions.

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