Majd Darwish*(1) and Nabil Habib(2)
(1). Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Tishreen University, Latakia, Syria.
(2). Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria.
(* Corresponding author: Dr. Majd Darwish. E-mail: majds26@yahoo.com).
Received: 30/10/2017 Accepted: 07/02/2018
Abstract
This research was conducted at the Field Crop Physiology Laboratory, Tishreen University during March to April 2017, by planting ten grains of two lines (covered and nude) of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and two wheat (Triticum durum L.) varieties (Cham9 and Bhous11) in Petri dishes within each treatment. The experiment was carried out according to Spilt plot design with three replicates, where the osmotic potential-levels (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 atm) induced by D-mannitol treatments and the varieties represented the main-plots and the sub-plots, respectively. The effect of osmotic potential induced by D-mannitol on grains germination of the treated varieties had been studied by measuring several traits and indictor, including: the number and length of roots (cm), plant length (cm), germination rate (%), vigor index (VI), germination recovery (%) and the relative drought tolerance indice (RDTI). The results showed a significant difference in the response of the studied genotypes to the high mannitol-levels. This was revealed by the decrease in water amounts absorbed by the grains with the increase of stress intensity under osmotic potential conditions within each studied trait. Considering all the studied indictors and traits, the barley lines were more tolerant to the osmotic potential, especially at 20 and 25 atm levels, as compared to the wheat varieties. D-mannitol at levels between 15 and 25 atm can be used to screen different genotypes of wheat and barley against the tolerance to drought at germination stage.
Key words: Triticum durum L., Hordeum vulgare L., D-mannitol, Germination, Drought.
Full Paper in Arabic: PDF