1Department of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004, India
2Department of Biochemistry, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004, India
Department of Botany, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004, India
*Author for correspondence: E-mail: seemabedi@pau.edu
Online published on 16 February, 2019.
Temperature is a major yield determining factor in cereals. The present investigation was carried out to evaluate the yield and associated biochemical traits in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under high temperature conditions. Five wheat genotypes viz., WH1105, PBW550, HD2967, PBW621 and PBW702 were raised under three temperature gradients (ambient+3.0°C, ambient+3.3°C and ambient+3.6°C) in a temperature gradient tunnel (TGT). For control, the crop was raised at ambient temperature in an open field. A reduction in crop yield was observed in crop raised inside the TGT. Among all the temperature gradients, the crop raised at ambient+3.6°C was adversely affected to a maximum extent. The amount of malondialdehyde (MDA), total soluble sugars, total soluble starch, protein and activity of invertase were estimated at various growth stages. The genotype WH1105 showed minimum reduction in soluble sugars, MDA content and total yield at higher than ambient temperatures. Therefore, among the tested genotypes, it is most tolerant to heat stress.
Heat stress, wheat, temperature gradient tunnel, total soluble sugars, yield, correlation
