Effect of Drought and Waterlogging on Cotton crop in Dera Ghazi Khan

Abstract

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is an important fiber crop. Cotton plays a key role in the economic and also in the social affairs of the world. Cotton is a soft fiber. Cotton may be exported to earn foreign exchange; or it may provide the raw material for textile production for domestic markets. Especially in developing countries cotton is a cash crop for millions of farmers worldwide. The experiment was conducted in the warehouse of Department of Botany, Ghazi University Dera Ghazi Khan Punjab, Pakistan. Dera Ghazi Khan is located at 30'03" N and 70'38" E. The overall climate of the city is dry with little rainfall. The winter is relatively cold, and the climate is hot during the remaining part of the year, but it is very hot in summer. Seed of cotton variety 555 were collected from the local market of Dera Ghazi Khan. Earthen pots were used have 12 cm in height and 10 cm in width. The experiment was conducted during summer to study the effect of drought and waterlogging on cotton. The pots were used have 12 cm in height and 10 cm width 25 pots were used for experiment. Each pot was filled loamy soil (3kg). The seeds were sown in pots at the depth of 2cm. 5 seeds of cotton were sown in each pot to achieve the best density after primitive growth 4 plants were selected to growth. Pots containing plants were arranged in a (RCBD) design in a wire house. Overall germination in this trial experiment of cotton species under the treatments of drought showed significant effects at the different levels of vegetative growth. The trends of drought and water logging effects showed that all the vegetative growth parameters studied during experiment simultaneously decrease significant folds than the control. Consequences of waterlogging impart adverse changes in different characteristics of crop plants. Some varieties however are resistant to waterlogging but susceptible varieties undergo vast range of damages. A major portion of country’s economy base upon cash crops, waterlogging can decline the overall yield of crops ultimately leading to financial loss. Our study can be the used as the basic tool for analyzing the physiological, morphological and anatomical and biochemical attributes of plants under waterlogging.