Characterizing and screening of wheat genotypes under salinity stress condition using thermography and multivariate techniques

Salinity is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting the growth and yield of wheat crops, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, where irrigation water or soil with high salt content is often present. With increasing soil salinization and abrupt climate change at the global level, identifying salt-tolerant wheat genotypes has become crucial. The present study aimed to characterize and screen the salt tolerance of 25 wheat genotypes at 25, 52, 69, 90, and 118 Days After Sowing (DAS), under field conditions using thermography and bio-physiological parameters. Wheat genotypes were irrigated with saline irrigation water (with threshold EC of 4dSm/m) and performances of the genotypes were monitored using thermal image-based indices e.g., CWSI (Crop Water Stress Index), IG (index of Stomatal Conductance) and bio-physiological parameters i.e., Photosynthesis (Pn), Stomatal conductance (Ig), Transpiration rate, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), Relative water content (RWC), Total leaf chlorophyll, Membrane stability index (MSI), Osmotic pressure (OP) of leaf, Leaf Na and K. With these biophysical parameters, a new screening index named as Normalized Salinity Stress Tolerance Index (NSSTI) was developed using different multivariate analysis e.g., Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) and Discriminant Analysis (DA). Based on the criteria developed in this study, NSSTI could classify the 25 wheat genotypes for salinity stress into: 6 - tolerant, 16 - moderate, and 3 - sensitive genotypes. DA confirmed the classification by NSSTI with 92-100% accuracy based on canonical discriminant functions. Further, thermal image-derived CWSI and IG differentiated tolerant and sensitive genotypes across all DAS under salt stress conditions. Irrespective of different DAS, NSSTI showed significant (p < 0.01) correlation with CWSI (0.70-0.83) and IG (0.78-0.84). The study also identified transpiration rate, RWC, OP, NDVI, and Pn as important parameters to characterize and screen wheat genotypes under salinity stress conditions at different DAS. The newly developed index - NSSTI, exhibited significant (p < 0.01) correlations with wheat yield (0.76-0.84) and biomass (0.73-0.82), indicating the usefulness of NSSTI in evaluating and screening wheat genotypes for salt tolerance. The identified wheat genotypes and key bio-physiological traits can be used in breeding programs to develop advanced salt-tolerant wheat lines. In future, the newly developed salinity stress index NSSTI would play a potential role in the screening and selection of salt-tolerant wheat genotypes under field conditions.