Salinity-Induced Variability Assessment in Wheat based on Morphological and Yield Performance

Abstract

Salinity stress is a major abiotic factor that adversely affects wheat growth and productivity. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of salinity stress (6 dSm^-1 NaCl) on yield and yield-related morphological traits of ten wheat genotypes. A pot experiment was conducted using a completely randomized factorial design with three replications. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that salinity stress significantly affected all studied traits, with genotypes exhibiting differential responses. Genotype × treatment interactions were also highly significant, indicating the negative impact of salinity. Heat maps illustrated overall performance variations under control and stress conditions. Among the genotypes, AAS-11, Jauhar-16, and Faisalabad 2008 showed relatively higher tolerance, exhibiting better grain yield and related traits under stress conditions. Correlation analysis indicated a strong positive association between grain yield per plant and traits such as number of grains per spike, spike length, number of tillers per plant, peduncle length, and 1000 grain weight under salinity stress. Conversely, days to heading exhibited a negative correlation with grain yield under normal conditions. These findings suggest that selecting genotypes with favorable yield-related traits can enhance wheat productivity under saline conditions.