Effects of drought stress on the morphological, physiological, biochemical, and phytochemical characteristics of Capsicum annuum cultivars Pusa Jwala and Pusa Sadabahar.

Abstract

This study examines how drought stress influences the morphological, physiological, biochemical, and phytochemical traits of two Capsicum annuum cultivars: Pusa Jwala (PJ) and Pusa Sadabahar (PSB). Under induced drought conditions, relative water content decreased, with PSB maintaining the highest level (82.7%). Notable variations in carbohydrate content were observed between the genotypes at both 30 and 90 days after sowing (DAS) under mannitol treatment. PSB consistently showed the highest average carbohydrate content, recording 23.81 mg/g DW at 30 DAS and 29.88 mg/g DW at 90 DAS. Both cultivars showed a general decline in protein levels at both sampling stages, but PSB maintained higher protein content than PJ at both 30 and 90 DAS.