PJB-2020-88
PHYSIOLOGICAL SELECTION OF WHEAT SYNTHETIC BACK DERIVED LINES FOR DROUGHT AND HEAT TOLERANCE
JALAL UD DIN
Abstract
Wheat is a major staple crop of Pakistan but the country is prone to climatic changes (drought and heat) as well as the alarming rise of population which is undermining the crop production. Wheat varieties grown nowadays have a narrow genetic base because of consistent inbreeding. Primary synthetics of wheat have great scope of economically important distinguishing features having greater ability to resist biotic and abiotic stresses. Therefore, the present study was conducted to assess 200 wheat synthetic back derived lines for drought and heat tolerance under laboratory and greenhouse conditions at National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, Pakistan. In laboratory, drought tolerance evaluation at germination was assessed by applying 20% PEG 6000, and germination and early seedling vigor were measured. In greenhouse, plants were grown in pots and drought was applied at pre-anthesis till physiological maturity. Based on the overall performance (agronomic and physiological traits), 30 synthetic derivatives were found to be the best drought tolerant and 45 were found to be tolerant against heat stress. Relative water contents (RWC) was found to be the most predictive trait to screen wheat germplasm for drought tolerance and proline contents for heat tolerance evaluation. Our results have significant associations in the breeding of high yielding varieties of wheat for creating tolerance against drought and heat stresses and for selecting elite lines into future wheat breeding.
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