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Seed of two wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) hybrids (C 306 and HD 2009) were subjected to water stress during germination and early seedling growth by using osmoticum solutions of polyethylene glyeol (PEG) of various external water potentials. It was observed that seed germination percentage and seedling growth in both the varieties were reduced with decreasing external water potentials. The water uptake by germinating seeds also declined with an increase in water stress conditions. The decrease in germination percentage was significantly higher in C 306 than in HD 2009. The retardation of shoot and root growth in length was higher in HD 2009 than in C 306. However, water uptake by germinating seeds was quantitatively similar in both the hybrids of wheat.
