Selekcija i Semenarstvo (Jan 2010)
Water deficiency influence on stem elongation in wheat
Abstract
Drought is one of the most important factors limiting the wheat production worldwide. Tolerance to water stress is the basic postulate for high and stabile yields in semiarid regions. In the present study water deficiency effect on morphological characteristics of the primary stem and grain yield per spike were analyzed. Two spring (Venera, Borlaug 95) and one facultative (Nevesinjka) wheat cultivars were used as the study material. Plants were grown during two-year period (2008-2009) in pots under controlled water regime conditions. Drought effect was tested in five different treatments (I - 7 days before heading, II - at the heading time, III - 7 days after heading, IV - 14 days after heading and V - 21 days after heading). In a control treatment (IV) optimal moisture was maintained during the vegetation. The lowest value for stem height was obtained when plants were exposed to the drought in the treatment I. The maximum stem height in cv. Borlaug 95 (52.3 cm) was determined in the treatment II, in cv. Nevesinjka (45.8) in the treatment III, while in cv. Venera (47.7 cm) in the treatment V. The formation of the top internode was similar. In the cv. Borlaug 95 the maximum length of the last internode slightly varied from the treatments III to IV. There were variations in the internodes length ratio depending on the treatment. The cv. Venera has shown higher drought tolerance expressed through the higher grain production per spike.
