Drought is a major issue in wheat production globally and in Nebraska particularly during germination. Rapid germination is important for satisfactory stands whereas late germination may lead to a lower yield. Laboratory experiments were conducted at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) to compare germination of five Nebraska-grown wheat varieties, or cultivars, under water stress conditions.
The cultivars, Anton, Nuplains, Pronghorn, Trego, and Wesley were selected because of their presumed differing water use efficiency (WUE). Tests were conducted on a Nebraska soil to create a soil water release curve and to select soil moisture level or water treatments. The experimental design was a 3X5 factorial consisting of three water treatments and 5 cultivars replicated four times. Seeds with the appropriate water treatments were incubated at 21o C and germination success was measured on the fifth and twelfth day after incubation. Analysis of variance was used for data analyses and significance tests. Germination differed significantly across cultivars and water treatments. A significant interaction was found between cultivars and water treatment (
