Study of root morpho-physiological and biochemical characteristics of lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) in response to moisture stress

The responses of plant roots play an important role in stress tolerance and optimal use of the moisture stored in the soil. Study of the most important morpho-physiological and biochemical parameters of roots can be an appropriate approach for selection of the cultivars tolerant to moisture stress. This study was conducted in pots and as a factorial completely randomized design in three replications.Treatments consisted of lentil cultivars (Gachsaran, Kimiya, Ziba, and Robat) and moisture stress at four levels: 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% field capacity. Results showed that the interactions between lentil cultivars and water stress on all root traits were significant. Under severe moisture stress, Rabat and Gachsaran cultivars were significantly superior to the Kimia and Ziba cultivars in most of the studied traits such as root length, root area, concentration of K, concentration of Ca, proline content, protein content, POX activity, and SOD activity. Kimia cultivar compared to other cultivars in all stress levels had the lowest root morpho-physiological and biochemical characteristics. The findings of this study showed that in comparison with other cultivars, Robat and Gachsaran were affected less under moisture stress, by means of applying effective stress-tolerance mechanisms such as more antioxidant enzyme activity, more root proline and protein contents, increased root length and area, more K and Ca absorption. According to the results of this study, Robat and Gachsaran cultivars are introduced as tolerant cultivars for cultivation under moisture stress.