Evaluation of a new method for quantification of heat tolerance in different wheat cultivars

Heat stress seriously affects wheat production in many regions of the world. At present, heat tolerance research remains one of the least understood fields in wheat genetics and breeding and there is a lack of effective methods to quantify heat stress and heat tolerance in different wheat cultivars. The objective of this study was to use various wheat cultivars to evaluate stress intensity (delta) and a new method for quantification of heat tolerance and compare this technique with three other currently utilized methods. This new parameter for heat tolerance quantification is referred to as the heat tolerance index (HTI) and is an indicator of both yield potential and yield stability. Heat treatments were applied in a controlled setting when anthesis had been reached for 80% of the wheat. The stress intensity evaluation indicated heat shock was the main factor associated with kernel weight reduction while grain yield reduction was mainly associated with chronic high temperature. The methods evaluation showed that a temperature difference of 5 degrees C from natural temperatures was a suitable heat treatment to compare to the untreated controls. HTI was positively correlated with yield under heat stress (r=0.8657, delta(2010)=0.15, in 2009-2010;r=0.8418, delta(2011)=0.20, in 2010-2011; P<0.01), and negatively correlated with yield reduction rate (r=-0.8344, in HTI and temperature difference control for quantifying wheat heat tolerance that included the yield potential and the stability of different wheat cultivars under heat stress. Additionally, 10 wheat cultivars showed high HTI and should be further tested for their heat confirming characteristics for use in wheat heat tolerance breeding.