Response of Wheat Genotypes to Drought Stress Stimulated by PEG

Wheat is a cereal grain crop that is commonly cultivated and is a good source of nutrients that are beneficial to human health. In recent years, the productivity of wheat has been steadily declining, with abiotic pressures accounting for almost half of all yield losses. Drought stress is a significant limiting factor for plant development and production around the planet. The influence of polyethylene glycol (PEG) (at concentrations of 5, 10, and 15%)-induced drought stress on the morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics of fifteen wheat genotypes was investigated in this work. Overall, it was discovered that morphological and physiological indicators such as germination % and shoot-root lengths during the seedling stage had reduced significantly. The proline content, on the other hand, was shown to be positively correlated with the concentration of PEG treatments. There was a significant difference between the genotypes HD2733, HD2888, and RAJ3765 regarding tolerance to abiotic stress caused by drought. A further finding was that under stressful settings, the first three main components explained 56.65 percent, 65.06 percent, and 72.47 percent of the total variability in PEG treatment levels of five, ten, and fifteen percent, respectively. These collective morphological and physiological parameters, and analyses of their diverse responses, could be used for screening of drought tolerance among the 15 wheat genotypes to select for significant drought tolerance and diverse molecular responses during breeding of stress resistant forms.