Effects of Waterlogging, Drought and Their Combination on Yield and Water-Use Efficiency of Five Hungarian Winter Wheat Varieties

The effects of simulated waterlogging, drought stress and their combination were examined in a model experiment in Martonvasar, Hungary, in 2018. Four modern winter wheat varieties ('Mv Toborzo' (TOB), 'Mv Mambo' (MAM), 'Mv Karizma' (KAR), 'Mv Palma' (PAL)) and one old Hungarian winter wheat cultivar ('Bankuti 1201' (BKT)) were tested. Apart from the control treatment (C), the plants were exposed to two different abiotic stresses. To simulate waterlogging (WL), plants were flooded at four leaf stage, while in the WL + D treatment, they were stressed both by waterlogging and by simulated drought stress at the early stage of plant development and at the heading stage, respectively. The waterlogging treatment resulted in a significant decrease in plant biomass (BKT, TOB), number of spikes (TOB), grain yield (BKT, TOB), water use (BTK) and water-use efficiency (TOB, MAM, PAL) compared to the controls. The combined treatment (WL + D) led to a significant decrease in plant height (BTK, MAM, KAR), number of spikes (BTK, TOB, MAM, KAR), thousand kernel weight (TOB), harvest index (BTK), biomass, grain yield, water-use efficiency (in all varieties) and water use (BKT, TOB, MAM, KAR) of the plants. The best water-use efficiency was observed for MAM; therefore, this genotype could be recommended for cultivation at stress prone areas. The varieties MAM, KAR and PAL also showed good adaptability.