Assessment of Photochemical Reflectance Index as a Tool for Evaluation of Chlorophyll Fluorescence Parameters in Cotton and Peanut Cultivars Under Water Stress Condition

The relationships between photochemical reflectance index (PRI) and the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were examined to assess suitability of PRI as a remote-sensing tool for the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. A greenhouse experiment was conducted using cotton and peanut crops under water stress condition. Five cotton and six peanut cultivars were grown using Andosole soil in pots maintained at two water levels; the control and water stress treatment (WS) of 100 and 50% of the daily transpiration, respectively. Higher non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) was exhibited by peanut than that of cotton by the water stress. On the other hand, the decreases of the actual quantum yield of photosystem II (ΔF/F'm) and PRI by the water stress in cotton were larger than those in peanut. There were positively significant correlation coefficients between PRI and ΔF/F'm in cotton at noon and in the afternoon including the control and WS. The correlations of PRI with NPQ were negatively significant at noon and in the afternoon for cotton, and in the afternoon for peanut. No clear relationship was found among these parameters in the morning probably due to the diurnal increase in global solar radiation. It was concluded that there would be a possibility to detect the effects of water stress on ΔF/F'm and NPQ by PRI with some exceptions, although PRI could not note varietals differences in ΔF/F'm and NPQ for each treatment.