Improving the productivity of bread wheat by good management practices under terminal drought

Drought-induced damages in crop plants are ranked at top amid all losses instigated by diverse abiotic stresses. Terminal drought (drought at reproductive phase) has emerged as a severe threat to the productivity of wheat crop. Different seed enhancement techniques, genotypes and distribution of crop plants in different spacings have been explored individually to mitigate these losses; however, their interaction has rarely been tested in improving drought resistance in wheat. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential role of different seed enhancement techniques and row spacings in mitigating the adversities of terminal drought in two wheat cultivars during two consecutive growing seasons of 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. Seeds of wheat cultivars Lasani-2008 (medium statured) and Triple Dwarf-1 (dwarf height) soaked in water (hydropriming) or CaCl₂ (osmopriming) were sown in 20-, 25- and 30-cm spaced rows; just before heading, the soil moisture was maintained at 100 % field capacity (well watered) or 50 % field capacity (terminal drought) till maturity. Terminal drought significantly reduced the yield and related traits compared with well-watered crop; however, osmopriming improved the crop performance under terminal drought. Among different row spacings, wheat sown in 20-cm spaced rows performed better during both years of study. Wheat cultivar Lasani-2008 performed better than cultivar Triple Dwarf-1 under both well-watered and stress conditions. Maximum net returns and benefit-cost ratio were recorded from osmoprimed seeds of cultivar Lasani-2008 sown in 20-cm spaced rows under well-watered condition. Nonetheless, osmoprimed seeds of cultivar Lasani-2008 sown in 20-cm spaced rows were better able to produce good yield under terminal drought.