Table 2 Effect of mild water deficit on growth markers measured in MUNASQA and TJ2049.

	NAR (Net Assimilation Rate; g⁻¹ cm⁻² day⁻¹)														RGR (Relative Growth Rate; g⁻¹ g⁻¹ day⁻¹)
	ANOVA										Correlations				ANOVA										Correlations
	V3 Stage					R5 Stage					V3 vs R5		vs Yield		V3 Stage					R5 Stage					V3 vs R5		vs Yield
	0 DAS	4 DAS		8 DAS		0 DAS	4 DAS		8 DAS		r²		r²		0 DAS	4 DAS		8 DAS		0 DAS	4 DAS		8 DAS		r²		r²
TJ2049 Control	–	3.93	Aa	3.67	Ba	–	0.60	Ba	0.70	Cb	0.22	ns	− 0.03	ns	–	1.56	Ca	1.34	Bb	–	0.33	Aa	0.36	Aa	− 0.08	ns	− 0.11	ns
TJ2049 Stress	–	3.51	ABa	2.72	Ab	–	0.44	Aa	0.48	Aa	− 0.04	ns	0.01	ns	–	1.52	Ca	0.38	Cb	–	0.28	Aa	0.32	Aa	0.33	***	− 0.07	ns
MUNASQA Control	–	5.41	Ca	5.43	Da	–	0.64	Ba	0.72	Cb	0.10	ns	− 0.01	ns	–	2.69	Ab	3.24	Aa	–	0.30	Aa	0.34	Aa	− 0.45 (W)	ns	− 0.05	ns
MUNASQA Stress	–	4.51	Ba	5.04	CDb	–	0.63	Bb	0.54	Ba	0.17	ns	− 0.03	ns	–	1.91	Bb	1.36	Ba	–	0.32	Aa	0.33	Aa	0.22	ns	− 0.13	ns
Standard Error	–	0.13	–	0.12		–	0.04		0.09			–			–	0.13		0.10		–	0.09		0.05

LAI, LAR, NAR, RGR and CGR were assessed in plants submitted to water deficit (Ψs = − 0.65 MPa) and well-watered treatments (Ψs = − 0.05 MPa) in V3 and R5 stages. Two independent experiments (n = 10 per genotype/treatment) were conducted, assessing parameters at 0, 4, and 8 d after stress (DAS) imposition. Additionally, 50 plants per genotype and the following treatments: 1: Control, 2: V3-Stress and 3: R5-Stress, were harvested at physiological maturity to obtain relative yield. Average values followed by the same uppercase letter in the column and the same lowercase letter in the row do not differ statistically among them within each phenological stage, according to Tukey’s HSD test at 5%. The strength of association between markers evaluated in V3 and R5 stages (n = 240) and between markers and yield (n = 300) was measured by Pearson's correlation analysis adjusted by Bonferroni (P > 0.05 indicated as ns; P < 0.05 indicated as *; P < 0.01 ** and P < 0.001 ***). Correlation coefficients (r²) were classified as “S: Strong” (> ± 0.60) and “W: weak” (below ± 0.59).
Significant values are in bold.

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