Eco-physiological Adaptability Potential of Sporobolus iocladus in Cholistan Desert

The inherent genetic potential of four ecotypes of a perennial grass Sporobolus iocladus, collected from four habitats of Cholistan desert, showed considerably high genetic variation with regard to morphological characters recorded. Ecotype 4 from "Shaheedan Wala Toba" and ecotype 1 from "Lal Suhanra" appeared to be the best thriving ones with respect to leaf area, number of tillers per plant, fresh weight of plant and number of leaves per tiller. Positive correlations among various morphological variables indicate that selected ecotypes may eventually prove highly desirable for enhancing biomass production and restoration of plant cover in saline `dahars` in degraded rangelands of Cholistan.