Morpho-physiological, quality traits and their association with seed yield in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) indigenous collection under deficit moisture stress

A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of deficit moisture stress on eleven sesame genotypes viz., IC-132171, IC-132186, IC-204445, IC-131500, IC-132207, IC-205471, IC-203962, IC-205353, IC-96229, and IC-204966 along with a national check (GT-10). The deficit moisture stress (WS) was imposed for a period of 50-55 days from flowering to physiological maturity. The morphological, physiological, and yield traits under WS significantly decreased in comparison with irrigated conditions (WW). Based on the mean trait performance studied among the genotypes, IC-204966 was found significantly superior with respect to plant height, capsules number, seed weight, total dry matter, leaf area, relative water content and reduced canopy temperature under WS conditions. The correlation analysis of different traits with seed yield indicated that the plant height and number of capsules/plant were highly and positively correlated with seed yield under both WW and WS conditions. The principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that among the traits studied, number of capsules/ plant, total dry matter, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate and fatty acid i.e., palmitic acid were the most important traits that accounted for more than half of the total variation among the sesame genotypes studied. Furthermore, the scatter plot revealed that two genotypes, IC 132,207 and IC 205,471 were stable performers under both stress and irrigated conditions, whereas the performance of check GT-10 varied depending upon conditions.