Cotton is an important fiber crop in the world and it is mainly cultivated in dryland conditions. Due to climate change, drought is occurs frequently. Even though cotton is cultivated in dryland conditions it is sensitive to drought from germination to harvest. Akshay 65 F1Bt cotton seeds polymer coated with Arcus, Myconate, Genius coat 171, Quick roots, and Genius coat 172 were grown in the field of the Department of Seed Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, to evaluate the impact of polymers on the physiological parameters under various moisture stress conditions in addition to normal irrigation. Moisture stress was created during the 50% flowering stage, boll initiation stage, and stress at both the 50% flowering and boll initiation stages. Among the moisture stress conditions, moisture stress at 50% blooming and boll initiation stages is critical for the irrigation of the cotton plant. The seeds coated with Quick roots performed better than other polymers and recorded higher physiological parameters such as soluble protein content (7.3 mg/g), leaf area index (2.35), nitrate reductase activity (35.1 mg NO2/g/h), chlorophyll stability index (73%), and relative water content (72%) in both regular irrigation and various water stress conditions. Polymers act as a drought-tolerant chemical, and therefore, it can be recommended to increase cotton yield in dryland conditions.
Key words: Leaf area index, relative water content, seed enhancement, water stress, polymer coating
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