EFFECTS OF DROUGHT STRESS ON THE BEHAVIOR OF SEVEN GENOTYPES OF DURUM WHEAT (TRITICUM DURUM DESF.) UNDER GREENHOUSE CONDITIONS

Durum wheat is one of the major cereal crops in the world as well as in Algeria, where it occupies mainly the semi-arid regions where water deficiency is one of the important abiotic stresses. The improvement of this cereal requires stress-resilient varieties development. The present study aims to evaluate the performance of seven genotypes of durum wheat under greenhouse conditions in order to identify the mechanisms developed by the genotypes to counteract water stress. Yield components, cell turgor, and root characterization were carried out as agronomic, physiological, and morphological evaluation parameters. Two treatments of water stress were applied and compared to non-stressed pot culture. The results showed that the variety Guemgoum rkhem was found to be the most tolerant to water stress and Mohamed Ben Bachir and Fassi were the most sensitive. A significant impact of the different studied parameters on the tested genotypes was recorded indicating variability between them. This study pointed out the considered parameters for appropriate selection of wheat variety adapted to water stress. Despite, the present approach open the way to new perspective to identify the most appropriate wheat variety using other parameters such as selecting target genes responsible for tolerance to water stress and thus facilitate the selection process.