Evaluation of Fourteen Bread Wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) Genotypes by Observing Gas Exchange Parameters, Relative Water and Chlorophyll Content, and Yield Attributes under Drought Stress

Allah Wasaya, Sobia Manzoor, Tauqeer Ahmad Yasir, Naeem Sarwar, Khuram Mubeen, Ismail A. Ismail, Ali Raza, Abdul Rehman, Akbar Hossain and Ayman EL Sabagh
Additional contact information
Allah Wasaya: College of Agriculture, Bahadur Sub-Campus Layyah-31200, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Punjab 60000, Pakistan
Sobia Manzoor: College of Agriculture, Bahadur Sub-Campus Layyah-31200, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Punjab 60000, Pakistan
Tauqeer Ahmad Yasir: College of Agriculture, Bahadur Sub-Campus Layyah-31200, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Punjab 60000, Pakistan
Naeem Sarwar: Department of Agronomy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Punjab 60000, Pakistan
Khuram Mubeen: Department of agronomy, MNS University of Agriculture, Multan, Punjab 60000, Pakistan
Ismail A. Ismail: Department of Biology, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
Ali Raza: Key Lab of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops, Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Wuhan 430062, China
Abdul Rehman: Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan
Akbar Hossain: Department, Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute, Dinajpur 5200, Bangladesh
Ayman EL Sabagh: Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kafrelsheikh, Kafrelsheikh 33516, Egypt

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Water scarceness is a major threat to wheat productivity under changing climate scenarios, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. However, growing drought-tolerant wheat genotypes could be a sustainable option to enhance wheat productivity under drought stress conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of mild to severe drought stress on gas exchange parameters, relative water content, SPAD-chlorophyll value, and yield-related parameters of 14 wheat genotypes being cultivated in arid to semi-arid areas on large scale. The genotypes were grown in earthen pots under three drought levels, namely (1) control-well watered, (2) mild water stress, i.e., 60% water holding capacity, and (3) severe water stress, i.e., 40% water holding capacity. The drought was imposed from the jointing stage to physiological maturity. Drought significantly decreased net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, relative water contents, 100-grain weight, and grain yield in all genotypes. However, the reduction percentage was different in different genotypes under drought stress compared with well-watered conditions. The highest relative water content (65.2%) was maintained by the genotype Galaxy-2013, followed by AAS-2011 (64.6%) and Johar-2016 (62.3%) under severe drought conditions. Likewise, Galaxy-2013 showed the highest net photosynthesis and stomatal conductance under severe drought conditions. The highest grain yield per plant (6.2 g) and 100-grain weight (3.3 g) was also recorded in Galaxy-2013 under severe drought conditions, while the highest grain yield under well-watered conditions was recorded in Johar-2016, followed by Galaxy-2013. These results suggest that wheat variety Galaxy-2013 could be cultivated extensively to obtain good wheat yield under limited water conditions.

Keywords: drought stress; relative water contents; SPAD-chlorophyll; stomatal conductance; net photosynthesis; grain yield (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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