Dissecting the salt tolerance potential of cowpea genotypes based on morpho‐physiology and yield‐related attributes

Abstract

High salinity is a critical environmental menace hampering crop growth and productivity worldwide. Therefore, dissecting the salt tolerance potentials and identifying resilient genotypes are crucial to secure sustainable crop production. In this study, we explored the salt resistance potentials of three advanced cowpea lines including one check variety exposed to different salinity levels (0, 50 and 100 mM of natural saline water) by quantifying their growth, physiology and yield‐related attributes. Our results implied that salt‐stress resulted in a significant reduction in the morphological, physiological and yield attributes at both 40 and 60 days after sowing when compared to non‐stress plants. Interestingly, we noticed that one of the latest cowpea genotypes (BU‐C‐Acc‐3) sustained better performances in terms of growth, physiology and yield‐related characters at both 50 and 100 mM salt treatments, while other genotypes exhibited varying levels of salt responses. Further, a multivariate analysis showcased that genotype ‘BU‐C‐Acc‐3’ acquired a combination of physiological and yield contributing responses that ultimately induced a higher level of resistance and grain yield. Collectively, our study offers some contrasting genotypes which could be incorporated in current cowpea breeding programmes to improve grain yield and salt tolerance using conventional as well as molecular breeding tools.