ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Changes in Antioxidant Enzymes Activities Mitigates Deleterious Effects of ROS in Panicum miliaceum (L.) under Drought Stress

In nature, plants are always subjected to various abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, high temperatures and so on. Among these drought is a worldwide problem, responsible for limiting the growth, physiology and productivity of plants, thus has become a challenge for global food security towards growing population. Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) belonging to family Poaceae grows under wide environmental conditions and different soil profile. In this view, an experiment was conducted to investigate the range of tolerance and change of metabolic activities of Proso millet under drought stress. The control plants were irrigated regularly and treated plants were irrigated at 3, 5, 7, day intervals up to 60day interval drought (DAS). The root and leaf samples were collected on 30 DAS, 45 DAS and 60 DAS respectively for morphological and biochemical analysis. It was found that with increasing duration of water deficit, tremendous increases of antioxidants activities were recorded at all growth stages compared to control on 7DID at 60DAS. Furthermore, a decreased rate of growth, biomass and chlorophyll content was recorded in treated plants than control. Therefore, it can be concluded that proso millet has affinity to survive under prolonged drought stress and can help to understand the mechanism of photosynthetic efficacy for improving crop productivity.