Water-soluble carbohydrates accumulation in peduncle of wheat and its relationship to morpho-anatomical and productive traits

Abstract

Water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) accumulating in internodes of the wheat stem can be a consequential contributor to grain filling, especially under stress conditions. In this study the WSC content and the WSC specific content (WSCSC) per unit of length were determined in the uppermost internode (peduncle) of the main stem at 10 days after anthesis across 44 wheat genotypes in two-year field trials. The defoliation was done at 10 days after anthesis by cutting off all leaf blades and defoliated plants were grown along with the intact control plants. Among 16 morphological, anatomical and developmental traits, the area of pith intercellular of peduncle, chlorophyll content in flag leaf and the flag leaf area appeared to be most important for WSC accumulation in peduncle. High WSCSC genotypes tended to have higher grain weight per spike than low WSCSC genotypes both in defoliated and control plants.