Sulfhydral Compounds Mitigate the Adverse Effect of High Temperature Stress in Contrasting Wheat Genotypes

Sulfhydral Compounds Mitigate the Adverse Effect of High Temperature Stress in Contrasting Wheat Genotypes

The experiment was conducted to investigate the role of foliar sprays of thiourea (500,1000 ppm), thioglycolic acid (100,200 ppm) and dithiothreitol (25,50 ppm) under high temperature stress on physiology, growth and productivity of heat tolerant (Raj 4083) and heat susceptible (PBW 373) wheat genotypes. These genotypes were sown on 15th November (normal) and 15th December (heat stress) in field conditions under standard package and practices. The sulfhydral compounds were sprayed at jointing (45 DAS) and anthesis (60 DAS) stages. Results showed that photosynthetic parameters, water status, membrane stability index, pigment contents and yield reduced significantly under temperature stress conditions in both the genotypes. The foliar application of thiourea, thioglycolic acid and dithiothreitol increased or maintained these parameters efficiently in tolerant as well as susceptible genotypes. The heat susceptibility index decreased whereas heat tolerance index increased on account of sulfhydral spray. It is concluded that the foliar application of thiourea, thioglycolicacid and dithiothreitol improved the production potential of wheat genotypes under stress conditions; however, the application of dithiothreitol 50 ppm performed the best for mitigating the adverse effects of high temperature stress in wheat....