Abstract:
A pot experiment was conducted near the net house of the Department of
Genetics and Plant Breeding, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka1207,
during the months of October 2017 to March 2018 to observe the
performances of four tomatillo genotypes under three different drought
treatments. Two factorial experiment including four tomatillo genotypes viz., G
1
(SAU Tomatillo 1), G
2
(PI003), G
3
(SAU Tomatillo 2) and G
4
(PI004) and three
drought treatments viz., T
1
(Control), T
2
(30 days withholding of water/moderate
stress) and T
3
(45 days withholding of water/severe stress) were outlined in
completely randomized design (CRD) with five replications. Days to first
flowering, days to maturity, plant height (cm), number of fruits per plant, average
fruit weight per plant (g), leaf length (cm), leaf width (cm), leaf length × width
(cm
2
), leaf length/width, number of seeds per fruit, average fruit length (cm),
average fruit diameter (cm), yield per plant (kg), relative water content, RWC
(%), proline content (µg/g), Brix (%) and Vitamin C content were studied in the
experiment. The results showed that both the tomatillo genotypes and drought
treatments had significant influence independently and dependently on
agromorphogenic, physiological, antioxidant and nutritional traits of tomatillo
plant. Most of the traits responded negatively as the drought level increased
except days to first flowering, days to maturity, leaf L/W, proline content (µg/g)
and Brix (%). Among the genotypes, G
1
could be cultivated at moderate drought
condition for early harvesting, the highest average fruit weight, maximum
yield, maximum proline content and maximum Brix (%) content. Regarding
antioxidant and nutritional traits such as for Vitamin C content, G
3
could be
recommended for moderate as well as severe drought stress regions in
Bangladesh. These genotypes (G
1
and G
3
) could also be used in future
hybridization programs.
Description:
A Thesis
submitted to the Faculty of Agriculture
Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka,
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE
IN
GENETICS AND PLANT BREEDING
SEMESTER: JANUARY-JUNE, 2018
