Selection of Drought Tolerant Wheat Under Water-Limited Condition Using High Throughput-Phenotyping Platform.

Wheat production in Kansas suffers from the limited supply of water during all growth stages of the crop. Water availability impacts crop growth and development, pollination and seed set, and overall crop productivity. In this study, a set of 400 diverse breeding lines, 30 varieties and 3 check varieties were planted in western Kansas, to evaluate their performance under two treatments: rain-fed and irrigated. The breeding lines were planted in a type II modified augmented design and the 30 varieties were replicated 6 times and arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three blocks in each treatment. The variety “WB Grainfield” was used as a whole plot control placed in the center of all whole plots and “Joe” and “Monument” were used as subplot controls assigned randomly in all the blocks. Response to drought tolerance will be made based on water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content, canopy temperature (CT), and normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI). NDVI was measured by using green seeker sensor mounted in a ground-based phenotypic platform and from visible images using a modified camera mounted in a UAV. CT was measured by using an infrared thermometer. The high-throughput phenotyping platform overall provides a rapid and easy measurement of large sets of breeding lines.