Fast classification system for drought tolerance in peanut and soybean

GUZZO, MC; POSADA GA; SUAREZ P; ROSSO M; SOAVE SJ; SOAVE JH; BUTELER MI; MONTEOLIVA MI

Porto Alegre

Congreso; XVIII Brazilian Congress of Plant Physiology; 2022

SAFV Brasil

Drought is one of the major limitations for agriculture in Argentina, especially for legumes , such as soybean and peanut. The direct selection of tolerant genotypes on the fields is time-consuming due to the unpredictability of the environmental conditions. We aim to develop strategies to reduce breeding times for legumes. Our group use a physiological approach to classify the genotypes under controlled drought at vegetative stage, which are then validated at reproductive stage. Additionally, we analyze several biochemical and physiological traits to classify the genotypes under stress, such as leaf relative water content, proline (compatible osmolyte which accumulated under dehydration), and chlorophylls (photosynthetic pigments which has been correlated to higher yields under stress for several crops). Seeds were provided by the EEA Marcos Juarez and Criadero El Carmen germplasm banks, for soybean and peanut, respectively. We grew the plants in a greenhouse and exposed the plant to a controlled drought (30% for soybean and 15% for peanut) at early developmental stages (3rd or 6th leaves respectively). Here we report how physiological responses at vegetative stage are associated to the tolerance at reproductive stage.