Effect of Osmotic Stress Induced by Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) on Seed Germination of Some Saudi Wheat Cultivars

Tahar Boutraa*, Abdellah Akhkha, Abdul Khaliq Al-shoaibi, Owdah Al-Sobhi and Ali Alhejeli

Department Of Biology, Faculty Of Science, University Of Taibah, Almadinah Almunawarah, (Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia).

ABSTRACT: Water stress can greatly reduce crop plants growth in all stages including seed germination, especially in arid and semi-arid regions such as Saudi Arabia which is the driest country in the world. In order to study the effect of water stress on seed germination of different Saudi Arabian wheat cultivars, an experiment was set up to evaluate the effect of a range of water stress treatments (0, -3, -5, -7.5 and -10 bar) on seed germination of four Saudi wheat cultivars (Soundi 1, Soundi 2, Hab Ahmar and Lughaimi). The different water stress treatments were generated using Polyethylene Glycol (PEG). The results showed that the responses of the cultivars to the different treatments were significantly different which indicates that some cultivars were more tolerant of water stress than others. We can conclude that cv. Hab Ahmar was more tolerant under extreme (-10 bar) water stress, whereas cvs. Soundi 2 and Lughaimi were less tolerant. The cultivar Soundi 1 was the most tolerant under -7.5 bar treatment. Recommendations of which wheat cultivar should be used in Saudi Arabian dry conditions will be discussed.

KEYWORDS: water stress; wheat; polyethylene glycol; germination

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