Shivalal Nyaupane*, Radhakrishna Bhandari, Mukti Ram Poudel, Binod Panthi, Harikala Paudel and Anjali Dhakal
Wheat is the most important cereal crop and is the major source of protein and calories in the daily diet. Drought is the major abiotic stress that severely affect the production of wheat worldwide. Morphology, physiology and biochemistry of wheat is severely affected under drought stress condition. The severity depends upon the time, stage and severity of water stress. Drought stress produces reactive oxygen species that cause the oxidative damage to the crops. Drought stress causes reduction in germination percentage, reduce seed vigor, early leaf senescence, early maturity, decrease chlorophyll content, reduces photosynthesis, decrease starch accumulation and decrease number of grains. Morphological structures such as trichome and leaf waxiness, stay green, accumulation of metabolites such as proline, various enzymes viz; Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Ascorbate (APX), Peroxidase (POD), Catalase (CAT) were produced by the plants to protect from drought stress. Development of drought stress tolerant varieties through studying the effect of drought stress in wheat morphology, physiology and biochemistry is most important to meet the future food demands of growing population in the world.
