One critical challenge facing the world is the need to satisfy the food requirements of the dramatically growing population. Drought stress is one of the main limiting factors in the wheat-producing regions; therefore, wheat yield stability is a major objective of wheat-breeding programs in Jordan, which experience fluctuating climatic conditions in the context of global climate change. In the current study, a two-year field experiment was conducted for exploring the effect of four different water regimes on the yield, yield components, and stability of three wheat (Triticum aestivum L.; T. durum Desf.) Jordanian cultivars as related to Canopy Temperature Depression (CTD), and Chlorophyll Content (measured by Soil-Plant Analysis Development, SPAD). A split plot design was used in this experiment with four replicates. Water treatment was applied as the main factor: with and without supplemental irrigation; 0%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of field capacity were applied. Two durum wheat cultivars and one bread wheat cultivar were split over irrigation treatments as a sub factor. In both growing seasons, supplemental irrigation showed a significant increase in grain yield compared to the rain-fed conditions. This increase in grain yield was due to the significantly positive effect of water availability on yield components. Values of CTD, SPAD, harvest index, and water use efficiency (WUE) were increased significantly with an increase in soil moisture and highly correlated with grain yield. Ammon variety produced the highest grain yield across the four water regimes used in this study. This variety was characterized by the least thermal time to maturity and the highest values of CTD and SPAD. It was concluded that Ammon had the highest stability among the cultivars tested. Furthermore, CTD and SPAD can be used as important selection parameters in breeding programs in Jordan to assist in developing high-yielding genotypes under drought and heat stress conditions.

Drought at pre-anthesis stages can influence barley growth and results in yield losses. Therefore, it is important to understand how drought at pre-anthesis can affect different traits associated with yield reduction in barley. The objective of this study was to understand the relevance of the genetic background of major flowering time genes in barley plants subjected to pre-anthesis drought and its impact on yield and yield components. A glasshouse experiment using a Randomized Complete Block Design was conducted to investigate the effect of drought and its timing on yield and yield components on eleven barley genotypes, which were selected to represent genetic diversity of major flowering time genes (PPDH1, PPDH2, HvVrn1, HvVrn2 and HvVrn3). Barley plants were exposed to three water regimes, non-stressed and stressed, which was applied at two pre-anthesis growth stages, tillering (SS) and stem elongation (SE). Results identified differences among genotypes in all measured traits. Grain yield, grain number and "thousand kernel weight" were reduced in all genotypes due to drought, irrespective of the growth stage. Early flowering genotypes had better performance as reflected in higher yield compared with late flowering genotypes. Results verified the fundamental importance of early flowering to improve productivity in response to pre-anthesis drought. The results of this study can help in selecting barley lines for future breeding purposes with improved resilience to drought conditions in Mediterranean environments.

Rhizobium plays an important role in cultivation of legumes throughout nitrogen fixation process. In the present study, growth of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) was studied after treatment with Rhizobium sp. isolated from two different sites in Jordan. The effect of the two isolates (RS1 and RS2) and...

Climate change is a major concern to people all over the world. Most studies have considered singular or dual effects of climate change implications on plant growth and development; however, the combination of multiple factors has received little attention. We therefore studied the single and combined effects of two environmental stress factors (high temperature and water stresses) and abscisic acid on tomato seedlings (Solanum lycoperscum L.). Plants were grown in controlled environment growth chambers under two temperatures (22/18 °C or 28/24 °C; 16 h light/8 h dark), two watering regimes (well-watered or water-stressed), and two abscisic acid treatments (0 and 100 µL of 1mM abscisic acid solution, every other day). Plants were placed under experimental conditions for a total of 33 days, including a 13-day period of initial growth and hardening. Morphological, biochemical, and physiological parameters were measured to assess the growth and development of plants in response to the three factors. ANOVA and Scheffé’s multiple-comparison procedures were used to establish significant differences among treatments and among the three factors being manipulated. All three factors decreased plant height and growth rate. Dry mass accumulation was negatively affected by high temperatures. Transpiration, stomatal conductance, and gas exchange parameters were negatively affected by all three factors; additionally, net carbon dioxide assimilation was reduced by water stress and abscisic acid application. Non-photochemical quenching was decreased in plants grown under higher temperature and in abscisic acid-treated plants. Though it was not significant, abscisic acid appears to mitigate the negative effect of higher temperature and water stress on the nitrogen balance index and total chlorophyll content.

The purpose of this study was to measure the impacts of pre-anthesis drought during reproductive stages (GS31 and GS39) on triticale (X Triticosecale wittmak) yield and yield components. Four triticale genotypes (2 Local, and 2 from the USA) were exposed to pre-anthesis drought stress at both of...