Effect of gamma radiation in mitigating abiotic stresses in wheat

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of gamma irradiation (0.0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07 and 0.1 kGy) in imparting water and micronutrient stress tolerance to wheat. In general, gamma irradiation improved seedling vigour of seeds under all the abiotic stresses particularly at 0.03 kGy. The tolerance characteristic was related to a higher activity of superoxide dismutase, an enzyme responsible for preventing the cellular damage due to superoxide free radicals that are invariably generated under abiotic or biotic stress. A greater tolerance of irradiated seedlings to iron deficiency was related to their ability to produce significantly larger amounts of phytosiderophores, the nonproteinanceous metal chelating amino acids. Gamma irradiation improved crop performance under iron deficiency and water scarce conditions, a trait that can be potentially exploited at on farm level to improve crop productivity. (author)