Guar Genotype Performance Under Varying Irrigation Regimes in Southern New Mexico.

Guar is a legume crop known for its drought tolerance. Adoption of guar in arid and semi-arid systems of southwestern US can provide an alternative crop for growers of the region. The objective of the current study was to evaluate selected guar genotypes under varying levels of irrigation in southern New Mexico. The irrigation regimes included an interval of 12, 24 or 36 days starting 4 weeks after planting. The treatments also included a no irrigation (after 4 weeks of planting) regime for evaluating guar genotypes under dryland conditions. Results from the first year study will be discussed on agronomic, physiological characteristics including plant height, plant biomass, photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance and relative water content. Seed yield and yield attributing characters including number of pods/plant, seeds/pod, seed test weight will also be presented.