A field experiment was conducted with twelve hybrid germplasm lines of CYMMIT along with three hybrid checks replicated thrice. Those germplasm lines were evaluated under moisture deficit stress for drought tolerance during the Rabi season 2015. The stress was imposed during the reproductive phase of development and the readings were recorded three times at 55 DAS, 60 DAS, 90 DAS. The parameters recorded were Leaf: Stem ratio, Root length, Root volume, Root: Shoot ratio, Root dry weight, Stem dry weight and leaf dry weights of the plant along with total drymatter, and grain yield. The results obtained from the experiment indicated that the moisture deficit stress during the reproductive growth phase resulted in a drastic decline in the yield by 2 to 3 times than the usual. Root characteristics play an important role in the drought mitigation strategies of maize plants the root length and the root volume results show that a significant increase in root volume in germplasm line Z638-2 from 250ml to 309ml resulted in a higher yield of g per plant. The root length also show a similar trend of increase in Z638-2 from to . Root dry weight was observed maximum in Z637-2 which was one of the best yielder. | A study on the root characters of maize hybrid germplasm lines under moisture deficit stress
