The effect of water deficit stress on physiological, biochemical and antioxidant properties of wheat cultivars and lines

Subject Areas : Antioxidant enzymes

Ali Shabanzadeh ¹ , Esmail Nabizadeh ² , Saman Yezdanseta ³ , Aida Hossainzadeh Mahootchi ⁴

1 - Department of Agrothechnology , Mahabad branch, Islamic Azad University, Mahabad.Iran,
2 - Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Mahabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mahabad, Iran
3 - Department of Agronomy , Mahabad branch , Islamic Azad uni. Mahabad .Iran
4 - Higher Education Institute of Rab-Rashid,Tabriz,Iran

Received: 2023-06-20 Accepted : 2023-09-19 Published : 2025-03-21

Keywords: Antioxidant enzymes, Grain yield, Nutrients, Water deficit, Wheat,

Abstract :

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of water stress on the physiological, biochemical, and antioxidant properties of wheat lines in the form of split plots in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results showed that the water stress in the spike stage of wheat lines had significant effects on the studied traits, and there were genetic differences between the lines in terms of the studied traits except for carotenoid and soluble carbohydrates content. Water deficit stress significantly reduced grain yield (24.8%), and among the studied lines, line 5 had the highest grain yield. Lines 2, 5, and 8 showed the highest chlorophyll a, and b content under stress conditions. Increased malondialdehyde (MDA) and total protein accumulation in leaves of wheat lines were observed during water deficit stress, which was accompanied by increased antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) activity, and the highest activity of antioxidant enzymes was observed in line 9. Also, potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) uptake by wheat lines decreased in water deficit conditions, and there was a difference between wheat lines in terms of the amount of these elements uptake under stress conditions. In general, a decrease in chlorophyll content and nutrient uptake under water deficit stress can lead to loss of grain yield, and wheat lines can increase their tolerance to stress conditions by increasing antioxidant activity and reducing MDA accumulation.

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