Vol. 12, Issue 4 (2023)

Author(s):
Luna Barooah, Swarup Anand Dutta, Sibani Das and Aradhana Bordoloi

Abstract:
India is the second largest producer of vegetables after China with an estimated area and production of 10.35 million hectare and 191.77 million tonnes of vegetables (Indian Horticultural Database, 2019-20). Per capita consumption of vegetables in our country is very low (180g/day/person) against the amount (300g/day/person) as recommended by FAO. In recent years, frequency of drought has increased due to erratic rainfall. Drought interferes with growth, nutrient and water uptake, photosynthesis of vegetable crops (Singh and Reddy, 2011) and ultimately cause a significant reduction in yield. It is important to increase the yield of vegetable crops in order to meet the required demand. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the mechanism of drought stress tolerance of vegetable crops at different stages of crop growth to mitigate the adverse effect of drought and to improve production. The major mechanisms include decreased transpiration rate through stomatal closure and reduced size of leaves, enhanced water uptake with deep root systems. Production of low molecular weight osmolytes like glycine betaine, proline, sugar alcohol and other amino acids sustain cellular functions under drought (Sprenger et al., 2016). Activation of antioxidant enzymes like SOD, CAT, POD, GR which reduces the adverse effects of water deficit (Sanchez-Rodriguez et al. 2010). At molecular levels, several stress proteins like late embryogenesis abundant protein (LEA), osmotin, dehydrin etc. are synthesized. Plant drought tolerance can be managed by adopting strategies such as germplasm selection, use of drought tolerant rootstocks, seed priming, exogenous application of antitranspirants, osmoprotectants, plant hormones, use of silicon etc.