Character Association of Wheat Under Drought Condition

Wheat is an important cereal crop and is a staple food for most of the world population. Being major consumable commodity it occupies a prominent position and is cultivated on an area of 8463.0 thousand hectares. 25-30% of the total cropped area is rainfed where the available water resources are limited. Water stress affects plant growth at early stage and at grain filling stage resulting in decreased yield. Twenty two lines/varieties were used to study the correlation and path co-efficient analysis among fourteen different seedling and maturity traits. Root density, tillers per plant, spike length and 1000-grain weight were positively correlated with grain yield. Plant height had negative correlation with it. Tillers per plant and 1000-grain weight had maximum direct effect on grain yield. Stomatal frequency, stomata size, root shoot ratio, had negative direct effect on yield.