In vitro screening of pea genotypes tolerant to iron deficiency based on physiological traits

Screening of genotypes tolerant to Fe deficiency was performed in a number of Australian (Santi, Parfield, BC11, BC191, BC 17 and BC14) and Bangladeshi (BARI-1 and IPSA-2) genotypes based on different physiological parameters. Fe deficiency caused severe decrease in chlorophyll a and b concentrations in Parafield, BC17 and IPSA-2 grown on MS (Murashige and Skoog) media on in vitro conditions. In contrast, chlorophyll a and b concentrations were not significantly decreased in Santi, BC11, BC91, BC14 and BARI-1. Furthermore, number of leaves, shoot height and weight were significantly reduced in Parafield, BC17, BD14 and IPSA-2; whereas Santi, BC11, BC91 and BARI-1 did not show prominent decrease in the aforesaid growth parameters due to Fe deficiency. Again, Parafield, BC17 and IPSA-2 showed significant decrease in root length and root biomass under Fe deficiency. In contrast, these parameters were unchangeable in Santi, BC11, BC91, BC14 and BARI-1 in Fe shortage compared to controls. Based on these findings, tolerance to Fe deficiency in these pea genotypes can be categorized as: tolerant (Santi, BC11, BC91, BARI-1), intermediate (BC14) and sensitive (Parafield, BC17, IPSA2). This study demonstrates the effectiveness of in vitro culture as an efficient method to screen Fe-efficient crop plants. Moreover, the ranking can be applied in plant breeding program and may have great advantage over conventional methods.