BIOCHEMICAL AND MOLECULAR APPRAISAL OF COTTON UNDER DROUGHT

The present experiment on "Biochemical and Molecular Characterization of Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Genotypes for Drought Tolerance" was conducted at Department of Biochemistry, Main Cotton Research Station, Navsari Agricultural University, Surat. Twelve genotypes were selected for screening in experiment-1. Seeds were grown in pots filled with sand culture for 15 days. The seedling were subjected to control and 10 % PEG-6000 treatment for 48 hour and samples were analyzed for relative water content, membrane stability index, proline, chlorophyll stability index and molecular diversity using molecular markers. Two genotypes GSHV-172 and GISV-272 showed highest relative water content, membrane stability index, proline Chlorophyll stability index compared to other genotypes so it was selected as drought tolerant genotypes. Above physiological, biochemical and molecular parameter were used for screening the cotton genotypes for drought tolerant. Total 12 RAPD primers were amplified to generate the 86 fragments. The percent polymorphism obtained for RAPD primers were ranged from 25% to 100%.