Plants, being sessile in nature, have developed mechanisms to cope with high salt concentrations in the soil. In this study, the effects of NaCl (50-200 mM) on expression of high-affinity potassium transporters (HKTs), antioxidant enzymes and their isozyme profiles were investigated in two contrasting bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes viz., HD2329 (salt-sensitive) and Kharchia65 (sal...

Wheat is able to cold acclimate in response to low temperatures and thereby increase its frost tolerance and the extent of this acclimation is greater in winter genotypes compared to spring genotypes. Such up-regulation of frost tolerance is controlled by Cbf transcription factors. Molybdenum (Mo) application has been shown to enhance frost tolerance of wheat and this study aimed to investigate...

A factorial completely randomized block design experiment with three replications was carried out in greenhouse to evaluate cereal genotypic variation in phosphorus (P) acquisition and utilization efficiency in a calcareous soil with low available P (4.6 mg P kg-1 soil) and high total P (1260 mg P kg-1 soil). Treatments consisted of eight bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), three durum wheat (T...

Sub-soil (> 30 cm) salinity and sodicity is a growing problem particularly in irrigated agricultural areas with rising water tables, poor water quality and/or deficient soil drainage. There were two objectives in this study; (1) to quantify the effect of sub-soil salinity and sodicity in grain yield of triticale, bread wheat and durum wheat and, (2) to determine if genotypes within and between ...

Nitrogen (N) losses negatively impact groundwater quality. Spring wheat genotypes varying in N-fertilizer recovery were studied (by using lysimeters) for their potential to minimize NO3-N leaching during spring and summer, over a three-year period. Additionally, we examined to what extent root growth and NO3-N leaching explain the well-known difference found between apparent and isotopic N reco...

In an effort to determine the biochemical markers for identifying genotypes before sowing for drought tolerance, changes in activities of antioxidant enzymes were determined in the seedlings of five drought-tolerant and five drought-sensitive wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes, each with different genetic background growing under normal and water deficit conditions induced by 6% mannitol. I...

In order to produce doubled haploid lines of bread wheat resistant to strip or yellow rust, three F1 wheat hybrids were crossed using pollens of three maize hybrids. Out of 1071 pollinated florets, success in seed set ranged from 63.1% to 93.3% (mean 78%). Differences in seed set among the crosses were not significant. Embryo formation in the seeds developed on different crosses also varied fro...

Drought is a world-spread problem seriously influencing grain production and quality, the loss of which is the total for other natural disasters, with increasing global climate change making the situation more serious. Wheat is the staple food for more than 35% of world population, so wheat anti-drought physiology study is of importance to wheat production and biological breeding for the sake o...