Finger millet production was negatively afected by drought stress. Thus, the assessment of genotypic variability for drought
tolerance is of great signifcance for the fnger millet breeding program. A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate drought
responses in 32 indigenous fnger millets originated from various regions of Koraput along with fve improved genotypes
including drought tolerant check (GPU28). Variations of early morpho-physiological traits such as seedling length, fresh
and dry biomass, dry matter accumulation (DMA), relative growth index (RGI), relative water content (RWC), drought
tolerance index (DTI), SPAD index along with photosynthesis gas exchange parameters and PSII activity were evaluated
under simulated drought stress by withholding irrigation. The frst two axes of principal component analysis (PCA) captured
94.6% of the total variation of morpho-physiological traits and indicated wide variations among the genotypes. Among the
studied traits, DTI, DMA, RWC, photosynthetic rate and leaf area are identifed as the major determining factor for diversity
among fnger millet genotypes. These traits also recorded higher genetic heritability accompanied by high genetic advance,
which may be of larger interest for crop improvement programmes. Based on drought tolerance ranking, six fnger millet
genotypes (Ladu, Lala, Bati, Biri, Tumuka and Bhalu) showed superior drought tolerance response compared to the tolerant
check genotypes. These genotypes are identifed as drought tolerant genotypes of this region suited for cultivation in drought
prone areas and can be used in future fnger millet breeding programs for drought tolerance.

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