Contribution of Agro-Physiological and Morpho-Anatomical Traits to Grain Yield of Wheat Genotypes under Post-Anthesis Stress Induced by Defoliation

Vesna Kandić, Jasna Savić, Dragana Rančić () and Dejan Dodig
Additional contact information
Vesna Kandić: Maize Research Institute Zemun Polje, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia
Jasna Savić: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia
Dragana Rančić: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia
Dejan Dodig: Maize Research Institute Zemun Polje, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: Post-anthesis drought affects wheat production worldwide, primarily through the limitation of grain filling. The enhanced remobilization of stem reserves induced by drought can provide considerable carbon sources for grain filling. The aim of this study, which was part of an ongoing wheat-breeding program targeting drought tolerance, was to assess the ability of 20 contrasting common wheat genotypes (2 cultivars, 8 F6:7 families (FAM), and 10 parent genotypes (PAR) used to make the families) to remobilize stem dry matter under water-stressed conditions simulated via defoliation 10 days after anthesis, and to estimate the contribution of stem dry matter remobilization to grain weight. In two-year field trials, the genotypes were scored for agro-physiological and peduncle morpho-anatomical traits. Stem reserve contribution to grain weight per spike was significantly enhanced in defoliated plants but did not differ amongst the groups of genotypes. F6:7 families had higher grain-filling rate and 1000-grain weight but without improvement in grain weight per spike under defoliation compared with parental groups. The total area of chlorenchyma, phloem-area-related traits, and stem reserve contribution to grain weight were positively associated with grain weight per spike under defoliation, whilst in both treatments, the grain-filling rate was determined by stem height. These results imply that the grain-filling rate is a trait desirable for drought tolerance that can be improved during the breeding process.

Keywords: drought; wheat; stem; peduncle; dry matter remobilization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/3/673/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/3/673/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:3:p:673-:d:1096625

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().