GRAIN QUALITY ATTRIBUTES OF WHEAT LINES HAVING DIFFERENTIAL PHOTOSYNTHETIC EFFICIENCY UNDER PROLONGED DROUGHT STRESS

Twenty wheat lines were tested for drought tolerance in terms of relative chemical composition and physical properties of grains. These wheat lines were selected on the basis of maintaining their photosynthetic potential under drought stress. There were two treatments of drought stress, normal irrigation and no irrigation throughout crop growth period. Exposure of wheat plants to continuous drought stress (rain fed) led to an increase in total proteins and gluten contents in grain. Grain zeleny concentration of water stressed plants was significantly lower than those of normally irrigated plants. Average grain diameter differed non-significantly but grain hardness decreased significantly in plants experiencing long term drought compared with drought untreated ones. A wheat lines had a differential response to water limited environment in terms of grain quality attributes and their performance was not dependent on their photosynthetic potential.