Non-availability of water during important growth stages is a major constraint reducing common bean productivity worldwide. Measures to develop water stress tolerance are hampered by inconsistent correlations and various mechanisms involved to screen many lines within stipulated time. Canopy temperature depression (CTD) has been recognized as an indicator of overall plant water status and speeds up the selection of plants in response to temperature and water stress. Fifty genotypes including two checks were evaluated under greenhouse conditions for stress resilience. The results showed that CTD can be a dependable sign of crop performance under both water stressed and non-stressed conditions. Under non- stressed conditions there was a linear trend of higher yield with CTD, however, under water stress, both negative CTD and positive CTD could be identified, and in both classes, genotypes with higher yield were identified. Correlation of CTD with all yield parameters was non-significant.

Keywords: Canopy temperature depression, Genotype, Water stress