Evaluation of Salt Tolerance in Wheat Genotypes through Principal Component Analysis across Varying Salinity Levels

Abstract

An excellent source of nutrients and a staple food crop is wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). For most people on the globe, wheat is an essential meal and a source of calories and carbohydrates. Wheat's growth and development are adversely affected by salinity stress, which lowers grain production and quality. The salt tolerance level of forty wheat genotypes was investigated using a complete randomized design (CRD) in 250 mL disposable cups. Diverse genotypes were screened and characterized with regard to their salt tolerance at the seedling stage against four treatment levels (control, 4 dSm^-1, 8 dSm^-1, and 12 dSm^-1). The data of descriptive statistics exhibited the ranges varied from minimum to maximum with grand mean values and standard deviation. A multivariate analysis showed that out of 12 principal components (PCs) only 4 have eigenvalues >1. and showed significant variation in all treatments. The four PCs showed values of 84.24 %, 89.75 %, 90.39 % and 74.87 % for cumulative genetic variation under normal, ST1 (4 dSm^-1), ST2 (8 dSm^-1), and ST3 (12 dSm^-1) conditions, respectively. The genotypes that have been found may offer significant assets for genetic enhancement initiatives aimed at enhancing comprehension of plant resilience to salinity-induced stress.