Fig. 1.

a The changes in SMC and RWC, in response to drought stress conditions for the two genotypes, ICC 4958 (drought tolerant, DT) and ICC 1882 (drought sensitive, DS). The control and drought stressed plants, for both the genotypes, were 126 days old. The RWC and SMC values were estimated just before harvesting the plants. The control plants for both the genotypes were well-watered but the drought stressed plants were exposed to drought stress conditions for 50 days by withholding water. Bar graphs indicate an average of five biological replicates. Vertical bars represent the mean ± SE. Statistical significance was tested by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. The different letters above each column represent significant difference at p < 0.01. b The decline in RWC of plants, monitored over a period of 50 days after stress initiation; Day 0 is the day of drought stress initiation, when the plants were 76 days old; vertical bars indicate ± SEM