Evaluation of Drought Tolerance of Some Wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> L.) Genotypes through Phenology, Growth, and Physiological Indices
M. Kaium Chowdhury,
M. A. Hasan,
M. M. Bahadur,
Md. Rafiqul Islam,
Md. Abdul Hakim,
Muhammad Aamir Iqbal,
Talha Javed,
Ali Raza,
Rubab Shabbir,
Sobhy Sorour,
Norhan E. M. Elsanafawy,
Sultana Anwar,
Saud Alamri,
Ayman EL Sabagh,
Mohammad Sohidul Islam
Affiliations
M. Kaium Chowdhury
Department of Agricultural Extension, Agricultural Training Institute, Gaibanda 5700, Bangladesh
M. A. Hasan
Department of Crop Physiology & Ecology, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Basherhat 5200, Bangladesh
M. M. Bahadur
Department of Crop Physiology & Ecology, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Basherhat 5200, Bangladesh
Md. Rafiqul Islam
Agronomy Division, Regional Agricultural Research Station, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Pabna 6600, Bangladesh
Md. Abdul Hakim
Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur 5200, Bangladesh
Muhammad Aamir Iqbal
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Poonch Rawalakot, Rawalakot 12350, Pakistan
Talha Javed
College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Ali Raza
Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Molecular and Cell Biology, Oil Crops Research Institute, Center of Legume Crop Genetics and Systems Biology/College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (FAFU), Fuzhou 350002, China
Rubab Shabbir
College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Sobhy Sorour
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Shaikh 33516, Egypt
Norhan E. M. Elsanafawy
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Shaikh 33516, Egypt
Sultana Anwar
Department of Agronomy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32601, USA
Saud Alamri
Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 12211, Saudi Arabia
Ayman EL Sabagh
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Shaikh 33516, Egypt
Mohammad Sohidul Islam
Department of Agronomy, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur 5200, Bangladesh
Increasing human population and changing climate, which have given rise to frequent drought spells, pose a serious threat to global food security, while identification of high yielding drought tolerant genotypes remains a proficient approach to cope with these challenges. To offer a methodology for the evaluation of the drought-tolerant wheat genotypes based on the pheno-physiological traits, a field experiment was executed, entailing four wheat genotypes viz. BARI Gom 26, BAW 1158, BAW 1167, and BAW 1169 and two water conditions viz. control treatment (three times irrigation at 20, 50, and 70 DAS, i.e., 100% field capacity) and stressed treatment (no irrigation during the entire growing season). The results revealed that drought stress drastically reduced the days to booting, heading, anthesis and physiological maturity, relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll content, canopy temperature depression (CTD), and photo-assimilates-spike dry matter (SDM), grains spike−1 and grain yield of all wheat genotypes. In addition, the genotypes BAW 1167 and BARI Gom 26 remained more prone to adverse effects of drought as compared to BAW 1169 and BAW 1158. Furthermore, DS induced biosynthesis of compatible solutes such as proline, especially in BAW 1169, which enabled plants to defend against oxidative stress. It was inferred that BAW 1169 remained superior by exhibiting the best adaptation as indicated by the maximum relative values of RWC, total chlorophyll, CTD, proline content, SDM, grains spike−1, and grain yield of wheat. Thus, based on our findings, BAW 1169 may be recommended for general adoption and utilization in future wheat breeding programs aimed at developing potent drought-tolerant wheat genotypes to ensure food security on a sustainable basis.
