Effect of drought stress during critical developmental stages on morphological and grain yield-related traits in winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).

As the frequency of droughts increases, the breeding of new drought-tolerant cereal varieties may become increasingly important. However, the complex effects of drought stress on grain yield-related traits are difficult to study precisely, and relatively little information is available on how drough...

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Main Authors: Zita Berki, Tibor Kiss, Judit Bányai, András Cseh, Krisztina Balla, Ildikó Karsai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0329391
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author Zita Berki
Tibor Kiss
Judit Bányai
András Cseh
Krisztina Balla
Ildikó Karsai
author_facet Zita Berki
Tibor Kiss
Judit Bányai
András Cseh
Krisztina Balla
Ildikó Karsai
author_sort Zita Berki
collection DOAJ
description As the frequency of droughts increases, the breeding of new drought-tolerant cereal varieties may become increasingly important. However, the complex effects of drought stress on grain yield-related traits are difficult to study precisely, and relatively little information is available on how drought during flowering affects plants. Therefore, 28 winter barley cultivars were included into controlled environmental tests, where their reactions were determined to single drought stress treatment applied at heading and to combined drought stresses applied at first node appearance and then at heading. Drought stress (both single and combined) significantly reduced all of the grain-yield related traits. Notably, grain yield was reduced by 48% in the two-row varieties and by 44.24% in the six-row varieties under combined drought stress, compared to the control. Our study has also demonstrated, that the combined application of drought tolerance/susceptibility indices (DT/SIs) and BLUP-based analysis provides a reliable approach for identifying stress-tolerant genotypes. We identified two main types of drought stress tolerance: the ability of preserving grain number and weight in the main ears, in parallel of maintaining the number of reproductive tillers (more tolerant), and the ability of preserving grain number and weight in the side ears (least tolerant). Both types appeared in either treatment, but not with the same intensity. Our results may provide useful information for a better understanding of this topic, which may become even more important in the context of increasingly frequent droughts.
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publishDate 2025-01-01
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spelling doaj-art-e6a5755cf99c4e97b4b1e749910ed3912025-08-20T04:00:43ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01207e032939110.1371/journal.pone.0329391Effect of drought stress during critical developmental stages on morphological and grain yield-related traits in winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).Zita BerkiTibor KissJudit BányaiAndrás CsehKrisztina BallaIldikó KarsaiAs the frequency of droughts increases, the breeding of new drought-tolerant cereal varieties may become increasingly important. However, the complex effects of drought stress on grain yield-related traits are difficult to study precisely, and relatively little information is available on how drought during flowering affects plants. Therefore, 28 winter barley cultivars were included into controlled environmental tests, where their reactions were determined to single drought stress treatment applied at heading and to combined drought stresses applied at first node appearance and then at heading. Drought stress (both single and combined) significantly reduced all of the grain-yield related traits. Notably, grain yield was reduced by 48% in the two-row varieties and by 44.24% in the six-row varieties under combined drought stress, compared to the control. Our study has also demonstrated, that the combined application of drought tolerance/susceptibility indices (DT/SIs) and BLUP-based analysis provides a reliable approach for identifying stress-tolerant genotypes. We identified two main types of drought stress tolerance: the ability of preserving grain number and weight in the main ears, in parallel of maintaining the number of reproductive tillers (more tolerant), and the ability of preserving grain number and weight in the side ears (least tolerant). Both types appeared in either treatment, but not with the same intensity. Our results may provide useful information for a better understanding of this topic, which may become even more important in the context of increasingly frequent droughts.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0329391
spellingShingle Zita Berki
Tibor Kiss
Judit Bányai
András Cseh
Krisztina Balla
Ildikó Karsai
Effect of drought stress during critical developmental stages on morphological and grain yield-related traits in winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).
PLoS ONE
title Effect of drought stress during critical developmental stages on morphological and grain yield-related traits in winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).
title_full Effect of drought stress during critical developmental stages on morphological and grain yield-related traits in winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).
title_fullStr Effect of drought stress during critical developmental stages on morphological and grain yield-related traits in winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).
title_full_unstemmed Effect of drought stress during critical developmental stages on morphological and grain yield-related traits in winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).
title_short Effect of drought stress during critical developmental stages on morphological and grain yield-related traits in winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).
title_sort effect of drought stress during critical developmental stages on morphological and grain yield related traits in winter barley hordeum vulgare l
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0329391
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