Evaluation of Exogenous Metabolites for Improving Grain Yield and Yield Components of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under Drought Stress
Akash Sahane *
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, India.
Pratiksha Patil
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri-413722, India.
Omkar Ghume
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri-413722, India.
Kavita More
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri-413722, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Drought stress is a major abiotic constraint affecting wheat productivity. The present investigation evaluated the effects of different metabolite treatments on grain yield in four wheat genotypes under drought-stressed and irrigated conditions. The experiment was conducted in a randomised block design with three replications during the Rabi season of 2022–2023 at the Agricultural Research Field, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi. Four wheat genotypes, namely PBW 343, HUW 468, HUW 510 and RAJ 3567, were evaluated under nine treatments (C, GD1, GD2, LD1, LD2, SD1, SD2, TD1 and TD2). Grain yield data were subjected to analysis of variance to determine the effects of treatments, genotypes and their interaction. The results revealed highly significant effects of treatment, genotype and the treatment × genotype interaction on grain yield under both drought-stressed and irrigated conditions (p < 0.001). Under drought stress, the highest grain yield in PBW 343 was recorded with SD1 (556.00), whereas HUW 468 showed its highest yield with LD1 (478.00). In HUW 510, the highest yield was recorded with GD2 and SD2 (464.00), whereas RAJ 3567 performed best with TD2 (496.00). Under irrigated conditions, the highest grain yields were observed with GD1 in PBW 343 (622.00), GD2 in HUW 468 (498.00), LD1 in HUW 510 (438.00) and SD1 in RAJ 3567 (512.00). The significant treatment × genotype interaction indicated differential responses of wheat genotypes to metabolite treatments under contrasting water regimes. These findings identify promising genotype–treatment combinations for further evaluation to improve wheat productivity under drought stress. However, multi-season and multi-environment validation is required before broader recommendations can be made.
Keywords: Wheat, drought stress, metabolite treatments, grain yield, genotype × treatment interaction, irrigated conditions