Journal of Cereal Research Volume 14 (Spl 1): 17-41

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17
Journal of Cereal Research
Volume 14 (Spl - 1): 17-41
Review Article
Homepage: http://epubs.icar.org.in/ejournal/index.php/JWR
Article history:
Received: 04 Jan., 2022 
Revised: 05 July, 2022 
Accepted: 14 Aug., 2022
Citation:
Ahad A, M Arshad, A Namrah, I Mahnoor, 
TS Batool, M Ejaz, A Gul and M Ozturk. 
2022. Abiotic stress tolerance in wheat with 
emphasis on drought. Journal of Cereal Research 
14 (Spl-1): 17-41. 
http://doi.org/10.25174/2582-
2675/2022/126890
*Corresponding author: 
 
E-mail: [e-mail], 
[e-mail]
© Society for Advancement of Wheat and Barley Research
Abiotic stress tolerance in wheat with emphasis on drought
Arzoo Ahad
1
, Manal Arshad
1
, Namrah Ahmad
1
, Mahnoor Ilyas
1
, Tuba Sharf Batool
1
, Mahnoor 
Ejaz
1
,
Alvina Gul
1
* and Munir Ozturk
2
*
1
Department of Plant Biotechnology, Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences (ASAB), National
 
University of 
Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan 
2
Department of Botany and Centre for Environmental Studies, Ege University, Izmir, Turkiye
Abstract
Environmental change presents a significant hazard to most tropical 
and subtropical crops across the world. Drought stress is among the 
negative repercussions of environmental modification that affects 
agricultural development and output. It has a significant influence 
on the vegetative and propagative phases of plants. Considering 
the current and prospective nutrition demands of a growing 
populace, it is critical to target crop production in drought-prone 
rainfed areas. Crops respond to drought stress in various manners, 
including structural, physio-chemical, and molecular responses. 
Drought tolerance encompasses processes that operate at several 
geographical and temporal dimensions, ranging from immediate 
stomatal closure to crop production management. There are multiple 
genes in wheat that are responsible for drought resistance and 
generate various enzymes and proteins under drought conditions. 
This review focusses the current advances in wheat physio-chemical, 
and molecular adaptation to drought tolerance. The experimental 
data revealed that drought stress negatively impacts multiple 
physiological processes that occur in wheat plants during their 
various growth phases, including germination, vegetative growth, 
reproductive development, and maturity. Therefore, studying the 
drought-induced damage in wheat plants, as well as strategies for 
boosting drought tolerance, is critical for increasing wheat output. 
Furthermore, molecular genetics and breeding strategies for 
developing drought tolerance in wheat to boost yield and quality 
are discussed.
Keywords: Drought stress, Drought adaptations, Wheat, Breeding, 
Food security. 
1. Introduction
Drought is becoming a foremost threat to plant production 
being a yield-limiting factor. The growth, physiology, and 
reproduction of plants are negatively impacted during 
extreme drought conditions, causing substantial failure 
in crop yields. Water being an ultimate element of plant 
life, constitutes almost 90% of the plant’s weight. It is 
becoming a continuous challenge to agronomists and 
plant breeders. By 2025, around 1.8 billion population 
will suffer water scarcity and 65% will confront low water 
availability. Resilience to water pressure is a perplexing 
threshold wherein harvests can be influenced by numerous 
quality factors (Nezhadahmadi et al., 2013). Plants have 
diverse systems for overcoming drought stress that can be 
categorized into four portions including drought avoidance, 
drought tolerance, drought escape, and drought recovery. 
The two principle means for plant drought resistance 
are drought avoidance and drought tolerance, which are 
among the four constituents of dehydration resistance 

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