Morpho-physiological Behaviors of some Wheat Cultivars under Water Deficit Stress

(Samir Abou-Isba, Mohammad Soliman, Lubna Mokrani, and Maysoun Saleh)

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Abstract

The capability of seedlings to tolerate the drought stress is considered a primary indicator of drought tolerance at the next growth stages. In this research, the morpho-physiological behaviors of some Syrian durum wheat cultivars at early growth stages, under water deficit stress was examined in a randomized complete block design in period 2016-2017. Under water deficit stress, significant reductions were recorded in plant height, second leaf area, relative water content, and cell membrane stability index. Meanwhile, stability was observed for pigments of photosynthesis. Cham1 cultivar showed the highest values of relative water content, cell membrane stability index, and chlorophyll-a (91.42%, 83.15%, 0.72 mg g-1 wet weight), respectively, under water stress, whereas, Cham5 showed the lowest ones. Cham1 is considered the most adapted local variety to drought stress and a promising genetic material for some of the morpho-physiological traits associated with drought tolerance. Key Words: Cell membrane stability, Durum wheat, Drought, Photosynthesis pigments, Relative water content.
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