Yield and osmotic adjustment capacity of barley under terminal water-stress conditions

This paper reports the influence of the osmotic adjustment capacity and turgor potential (TP) on tolerance to drought in 12 cultivated genotypes, six breeding lines and six cultivars of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) under terminal water-stress conditions. When the crops reached the flag leaf stage, half of the experimental plots in which they were grown were submitted to water stress treatment and the remainder maintained under optimal irrigation conditions. Differences were seen in the osmotic adjustment, relative water content (RWC) and water potential (WP) of the different genotypes. Two of the breeding lines showed the greatest osmotic adjustment capacities, maintaining their TPs better than the other genotypes studied. A positive, significant correlation was found between yield and osmotic adjustment capacity, RWC and WP under water-stress conditions. Osmotic adjustment capacity and TP were linearly related, indicating that as water stress increases osmotic adjustment favours the maintenance of higher TPs. Significant correlations were found between osmotic adjustment capacity and grain filling rate and grain yield. Under conditions of terminal water stress, yield was negatively correlated with the number of days to ear emergence; no correlation was found between osmotic adjustment capacity and earliness. Early ear emergence, a good osmotic adjustment capacity and high RWC values all contributed to yield increases under terminal water-stress conditions.