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YIELD STABILITY ANALYSIS CONFERRING ADAPTATION OF WHEAT TO PRE- AND POST-ANTHESIS DROUGHT CONDITIONS

SYED ABDUL MAJID^*, REHANA ASGHAR¹ AND GHULAM MURTAZA

Abstract: Four wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes viz., Rawal-87, Inqalab-91, Potohar-93 and Chakwal-97 were grown under pre-anthesis, post-anthesis and terminal drought stress in comparison to the unstressed condition in lysimeters to study the adaptability of crop in different drought environments on the basis of yield and yield components. Gypsum block method was used to monitor drought stress in the soil. The performance of yield components attributable to grain yield were assessed and it was found that number of grains per spike and biological yield were positively and significantly correlated to the grain yield. Harvest index and thousand grains weight were also correlated positively but the former was significant at 5% only and the later had non-significant correlation. It was also found that number of spikelets per spike was negatively and non-significantly correlated with the grain yield of wheat under drought stress conditions imposed during this study. Present study revealed that grain yield of wheat crop under water deficit conditions can be improved by selecting the genotypes having more number of grains per spike and biological yield. Chakwal-97 had highest mean during both the years but regression coefficient closest to one was for Inqalab-91 in number of grains per spike. On the basis of number of grains per spike Inqalab-91 remained most stable for the year 2002-03 and Chakwal-97 for 2003-04. Inqalab-91 also exhibited stability for both these years on the basis of thousand grains weight. Similarly, on the basis of the major parameter judging for stability, the grain yield, Inqalab-91 with highest mean for both years and with regression coefficient closest to unity in one of the years (2003-04) looked to be the most stable genotype. Deviation from the regression fit is the measure of genotypic stability over a set of environments. Inqalab-91, with highest mean in yield and yield components and smaller deviation from the regression fit, was relatively stable in drought stress environments. Inqalab-91 with almost 90% of coefficient of determination in all the regression of yield components looked to be the best, although other varieties had higher coefficient of determination than that of Inqalab-91 in some of the yield components.

Department of Botany, University of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, Pakistan.

¹Department of Botany, University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

^* Corresponding Author’s e-mail: samajida@hotmail.com