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ALLEVIATION OF DROUGHT-INDUCED ADVERSE EFFECTS IN SPRING WHEAT (TRITICUM AESTIVUM L.) USING PROLINE AS A PRE-SOWING SEED TREATMENT

MUHAMMAD KAMRAN, MUHAMMAD SHAHBAZ^*, MUHAMMAD ASHRAF AND NUDRAT AISHA AKRAM

Abstract: An experiment was conducted to assess the effect of exogenous application of proline as a pre-sowing seed treatment on morpho-physiological and yield attributes of 5 wheat cultivars viz., SARC-I, Inqlab-91, MH-97, Bhakkar and S-24 under well watered or water deficit conditions. Plants of the 5 wheat cultivars raised from proline (control, 20 mM and 40 mM) treated seeds were subjected to water stress i.e. well watered and 60% field capacity for 63 days. Water stress reduced shoot and root fresh and dry weights, shoot length, total leaf area per plant, grain yield and gas exchange characteristics and increased shoot P contents. However, the effect of pre-sowing proline on shoot K⁺ and Ca²⁺ and root N, Ca²⁺ and K⁺ was not-significant. Exogenous application of proline as a pre-sowing seed treatment improved shoot and root fresh and dry weights, shoot length and grain yield under both non-stress and stress conditions and total leaf area per plant only under stress conditions. Proline level, 20 mM was effective for Inqlab-91 and MH-97, while for others, 40 mM proline was more effective in promoting plant growth and other related attributes under water deficit conditions. Performance of Bhakkar and MH-97 was poor as compared to the other cultivars under drought stress conditions.

Department of Botany, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.