33. Physiological alterations in wheat during drought stress tolerance at different growth stages
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Abstract
Wheat is a staple diet for the majority of the people in the world. It is widely adapted and cultivated in diverse environments across the globe. The present study was conducted to identify drought-tolerant genotypes and analyze important physiological alterations that occur during drought stress at different growth and developmental stages. Twenty advanced breeding lines were planted under field condition, and water stress was applied at four developmental stages. Wheat accessions which performed best for studied traits that include 11402 (plant height), 11407, 10932 (stomatal frequency), 11399, and 11451 depicted good results for cell membrane stability, whereas others showed the presence of leaf waxiness. Principal component analysis showed that accession 10929 (V15), 11133 (V4), 11402 (V10) and 11399 (V9) exhibited a positive and strong correlation for plant height, stomatal frequency, cell membrane stability, and proline content, respectively. The identified potential accessions which performed well under water stress condition for various physiological traits could be recommended for future breeding and development of wheat genotypes for rainfed ecologies.
Keywords: Drought; Growth stages; Water stress; Wheat