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Abstract
Drought resistance of two drought‐resistant lines, GP12.IC 1039 and GP.20 Bagdar, and two drought‐sensitive lines, GPD11 YSS.89 and GP17.S.35, of sorghum was assessed in a pot experiment under glasshouse conditions. Twenty‐eight‐day‐old plants of these four lines were subjected to repeated drought cycles for 15 days. The drought‐resistant lines were superior to the drought‐sensitive lines in biomass production and leaf area under drought stress. The drought treatment caused a significant reduction in leaf osmotic potential in all four lines. A close relationship between drought resistance and osmotic adjustment was observed in these lines differing in drought resistance. For instance, the two drought‐resistant lines had significantly higher osmotic adjustment (0.469 and 0.496 MPa) than that of the two drought‐sensitive lines (0.428 and 0.310 MPa). By contrast, a negative relationship between drought resistance and water retention capability (determined as decrease in weight of excised leaves during 5‐hour drying period) was found in all four lines, since the two drought‐resistant strains had relatively lower water‐retention capability than the two drought‐sensitive lines. Since there was a negative relationship between water‐retention capability and osmotic adjustment, water‐retention capability cannot be used as a reliable selection criterion for identification of drought‐resistant genotypes/lines in sorghum.