The effect of flag leaf defoliation on grain morphology in wheat after drought stress kolistin

It is known that flag leaf influences grain yield potential in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). However, little is known regarding the influence of defoliation of flag leaf after drought stress. The effect of flag leaf defoliation and drought stress on the grain’s weight, area, width, length, and circularity was investigated in six bread wheat varieties. Drought treatment, genotypes and their interaction significantly influenced investigated traits while weight and length of the grain were not significantly affected by flag leaf defoliation. However, the interaction of drought treatment and flag leaf defoliation showed a significant effect only on grain circularity. The results showed that drought applied after anthesis significantly reduced mature grain weight in wheat, whilst the effect of flag leaf defoliation after anthesis was insufficient to cause significant differences. However, drought tolerance of some varieties (Bubnjar) might mitigate the drought and defoliation effects as they could have a compensatory increase in the photosynthesis of spikes. Other morphological traits of grain showed less pronounced differences under stress treatments that were also genotypic-specific characteristics. Generally, genetic influence was observed among wheat varieties when they were imposed on source restriction (flag leaf defoliation) and drought stress.