Evaluation of some morpho-physiological traits of four basil ‎‎(Ocimum basilicum L.) cultivars under water stress conditions

The present study was conducted to evaluate some of the morphological and physiological traits of four basil cultivars under drought stress condition in greenhouse. The experiment was conducted as a factorial based on a completely randomized design. Four commercial basil cultivars (including Iranian green and violet basils, Genovese and Amethyst) were used as the first factor and drought stress at four levels (including irrigation at 100, 85, 70 and 55% FC) was used as second factor. The results showed that drought stress increased root length, but decreased dry weight of the plant. Plant height, leaf area, RWC and transpiration were reduced under drought stress treatments. The rate of membrane stability index increased although the reduction was different among the cultivars. Genovese and Iranian green cultivars showed the highest fresh and dry weights. The highest root dry weight and fresh and dry weights of plant were obtained in Genovese cultivar. Finally, Genovese cultivar showed the highest potential to introduce as tolerant cultivar in order to cultivation in drought condition.