Selection of some suitable drought tolerant wheat genotypes using carbon isotopes discrimination (CID) technique

A pot culture experiment was conducted in glass house at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) laboratories, Seibersdorf, Austria to select suitable drought tolerant wheat genotype using carbon isotopes discrimination technique. Four wheat genotypes viz., LU-26s, Bhittai, Roshan, Taifu, were tested. There were two treatments. i. Control (normal irrigation) and ii. Drought (@ 30 % field capacity of the control treatment). Drought treatment was imposed after two weeks of germination. The experiment was continued up to 10 weeks after germination and was terminated at flowering stage. The data was recorded in terms of plant height, number of tillers, shoot dry weight and carbon isotopic ratio (δ). Results showed that there was a significant decrease in all the growth parameters. The decrease was also significant among the genotypes. The genotypes LU-26s was found to have best performance under drought condition, with minimum decrease in the growth parameters i.e., plant height, number of tillers and shoot dry weight. High corbon isotopes discrimination (CID) values were also observed in genotype LU-26s, showing close positive correlation between SDW and CID. It is therefore concluded that carbon isotopes discrimination can be an important criterion for the selection of wheat genotypes for drought prone areas.