Genetic and phenotypic associations between peduncle characteristics and spike productivity in wheat under drought and normal conditions.

ABSTRACT: The peduncle stem plays an essential role in resource allocation and water transport to spike grains under normal conditions. Therefore, exploring peduncle traits and their relationships with spike production under drought stress may provide insights into the mechanisms that mitigate the effects of drought stress on grain yield in wheat. To address this challenge, a panel of 198 highly homozygous and diverse spring wheat varieties was evaluated under normal and drought conditions across two growing seasons. Peduncle traits, namely, length (PL), diameter (PD), and weight (PW), as well as spike traits, namely, spike length (SPL), number of spikelets/spike (NSPS), grain number/spike (GNPS), and grain yield per spike (GYPS), and thousand-kernel weight (TKW), were assessed. We revealed that PW

SUBMITTER: Sallam A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12799726 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature