Estimation of drought toleranse of bread winter wheat varietis of different ecological and geografical under osmotic stress

Abstract

Drought, especially during the juvenile period, negatively affects the development of wheat plants, causing significant decreasing crop yields and grain quality. Determination of drought tolerance is one of the important and actual tasks when developing new varieties and their use in the farming.

The purpose of this work was diagnostic of the drought tolerance of wheat varieties of various ecological and geographical origins under osmotic stress. The peculiarities of seed germination of 17 bread winter wheat varieties created in the Forest-Steppe and Steppe regions of Ukraine and Central Europe (Germany, were studied on sucrose, mannitol and sorbitol solutions of different molar concentrations corresponding to 16 and 18 atm of osmotic pressure. Distilled water was as control. The well-filled seeds of one reproduction and one fraction where used. The average number of sprouted seeds from three replicates as a percentage of control was determined at 3th, 7th and 10th days of germination. The criterion for drought-tolerance of varieties was the high percentage of germination of seeds (more than 70–80 %) under artificial water deficit on all tested osmotic solutions. On the third day sprouting the varieties MIP Valensiia, Turunchuk, MIP Kniazhna, Misiia odeska, Blahodarka odeska were identified with the greatest germination energy on all investigated solutions at 16 atm of osmotic pressure, and the varieties MIP Kniazhna, MIP Valensiia, Turunchuk, Blahodarka odeska were identified at 18 atm. On the 7th and 10th days the varieties Albatros odeskyi, varieties of Myronivka breeding Hratsiia myronivska, MIP Vyshyvanka, Balada myronivska, and the German variety Samurai where added to the already defined varieties according to the accepted criterion of drought-tolerance.