Screening of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) genotypes for waterlogging tolerance using morpho-physiological traits at early growth stage

Omolayo J Olorunwa; Bikash Adhikari; Ainong Shi; T Casey Barickman

doi:10.1016/j.plantsci.2021.111136

Screening of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) genotypes for waterlogging tolerance using morpho-physiological traits at early growth stage

Plant Sci. 2022 Feb:315:111136. doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2021.111136. Epub 2021 Nov 27.

Authors

Omolayo J Olorunwa¹, Bikash Adhikari¹, Ainong Shi², T Casey Barickman³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Mississippi State University, North Mississippi Research and Extension Center, Verona, MS, 38879, USA.
² Department of Horticulture, PTSC 316, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA.
³ Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Mississippi State University, North Mississippi Research and Extension Center, Verona, MS, 38879, USA. Electronic address: t.c.barickman@msstate.edu.

PMID: 35067306
DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2021.111136

Abstract

The majority of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) produced in the U.S. is planted shortly after the summer rains and subsequently depends on rain or artificial irrigation. Therefore, excessive precipitation and poor soil drainage will cause cowpea plants to suffer temporary waterlogging, reducing the submerged tissue's oxygen level. Although cowpea is sensitive to waterlogging, excessive moisture can induce several morpho-physiological changes with adverse impacts on yield in its early stages of development. The current study subjected 30 cowpea genotypes to 10-days of waterlogging at the seedling stage under a controlled environment. The dynamic changes of 24 morpho-physiological parameters under waterlogging and optimal water conditions were analyzed to understand cowpea's response to waterlogging. Significant waterlogging treatment, cowpea genotypes, and their interactions (P < 0.001) were observed for most of the measured parameters. The results indicated that plant height (PH), leaf area (LA), fresh (FW) and dry weight (DW) of cowpea genotypes were significantly decreased under waterlogging compared to the control treatments. Similar results were obtained for net photosynthesis (P_n), stomatal conductance (g_s), intercellular CO₂ concentration (C_i), and transpiration rate (E). However, the water use efficiency (WUE) and adventitious roots (ARs) increased linearly under waterlogging conditions. Waterlogging also declined chlorophyll fluorescence parameters except non-photochemical quenching (qN), which increased with excess soil moisture. In addition, waterlogging tolerance coefficient (WTC) and multivariate analysis (MCA) methods were used to characterize cowpea genotypes for waterlogging tolerance. Accordingly, the cowpea genotype Dagupan Pangasinan, UCR 369, and Negro were classified as waterlogging tolerant, while EpicSelect.4 and ICARDA 140071, as the most waterlogging sensitive. The cowpea genotypes and morpho-physiological traits determined from this study may be useful for genetic engineering and breeding programs that integrate cowpea waterlogging tolerance.

Keywords: Chlorophyll fluorescence; Photosynthetic rate; Stomatal conductance; Waterlogging tolerance coefficient.

Publication types

Comparative Study

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Physiological / genetics*
Crops, Agricultural / genetics
Crops, Agricultural / growth & development
Dehydration / genetics*
Dehydration / physiopathology*
Genetic Variation
Genotype
Phenotype*
Vigna / genetics*
Vigna / growth & development*