Germination Stage Water Scarcity in Bread and Einkorn Wheat

Abstract

Germination (GR, %) and power (GP, %) rates, coleoptile (CL, cm), shoot lenght (SL, cm), and root (RL, cm) length, shoot/root length ratio (SRLR), root fresh weight (RFW, mg) and dry (RDW, mg) weight, and root fresh/dry root ratio (RFDWR) of 12 bread and 10 einkorn wheat genotypes were investigated under 7 drought stress levels. SL and SRLR in the study were the most sensitive traits and followed by CL and RL. The mean performance of all traits was worsened starting at various stress levels. The highest percent reduction was in SL (100.00%), SRLR (100.00%), and RL (99.07%), and the lowest one was in GP (55.9%). The common applied drought tolerance indices grouped the entries as tolerant, moderate, and susceptible. Einkorn populations from higher rainfall Blacksea region responded worse under drought stress than bread wheat cultivars, which were improved for drier or relatively drier Central Anatolia, Sub-Marmara, and Thrace regions.