Original Article | 2011, Vol.33, No.2, pp. 135-142
Drought tolerance screening of wheat varieties by inducing water stress conditions
Abdul Aziz Khakwani, M. D. Dennett and M. Munir
pp. 135 - 142
Abstract
Plants of six wheat varieties (Damani, Hashim-8, Gomal-8, DN-73, Zam-04, and Dera-98) were grown under three water regimes i.e. 100% Field Capacity (FC), 35% FC and 25% FC. Results of this experiment showed highly significant difference among wheat varieties in all the studied traits and water stress conditions decreased them significantly. The superior variety Hashim-8 which indicated higher relative water content (RWC), mean productivity (MP), geometric mean productivity (GMP) and stress tolerance index (STI) whereas stress susceptibility index (SSI) and tolerance (TOL) was observed at its lowest. These traits are recognized as beneficial drought tolerance indicators for selecting a stress tolerant variety. Similarly, total grain yield per plant, biological yield per plant and harvest index was also higher in the same wheat variety, which put it as a good candidate for selection criteria in wheat breeding program for drought resistance.
