Abstract:
Drought is one of the most critical abiotic stresses limiting the establishment and productivity of crops, especially during germination and seedling development. To study the genetic variations among barley genotypes for drought tolerance at the early stages, thirty-five genotypes were evaluated under polyethylene glycol(PEG)-induced drought stress (0, 10, 20, and 30% PEG) at the Crop Sciences Institute (CSI), National Agricultural Research Center (NARC), Islamabad, Pakistan. Ten seeds of each genotype were sown in petri dishes, arranged incompletely randomized design (CRD), and replicated three times. The results showed significant differences among barley genotypes and PEG concentrations. The genotypes 1, 7, 13, 16, and 34 germinated more rapidly, while higher germination percentage, root, shoot, and coleoptile lengths were recorded in genotypes 1, 4, 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, and 34. Root dry weight was greater in genotypes 1, 4, 7, 13, 14, and 17, whereas higher shoot dry weight was recorded in genotypes 1, 4, 6, 7, 13, 14, 16, 17, and 34. The seedling vigor index was highest in genotypes 1, 7, and 13, followed by 4, 6, 10, 14, 16, 17,and 34. The coefficient of relative inhibition was comparatively higher in genotypes 5, 8, 11, 12, 15, 20, 26, and 35. Overall, we noted that increasing PEG levels reduced performance in most of the parameters. The findings highlight the usefulness of laboratory-based biotechnological screening as a rapid and reliable approach for identifying drought-tolerant genotypes. The promising genotypes identified in this study may be further evaluated under field conditions and can serve as the parent material for the development of drought-resilient barley cultivars through plant breeding programs.
Page(s):
120-120
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: 1st International Conference on "Recent Advances in Green Biotechnology and Climate Resilience", September 15-16, 2025, Volume: 1, Issue: 1, Year: 2025
Keywords:
genetic variation
,
polyethylene glycol
,
drought tolerance
,
plant breeding
,
Invitro screening
,
Barley genotypes
,
seedling vigor index