Abstract Drought stress during the reproductive period of cereal crops leads to significant yield reductions, therefore, exploring effective methods to improve tolerance to post-anthesis drought is necessary. Pot experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of pre-drought priming on physiological characteristics and grain yield with drought stress at post-anthesis. Moderate water deficits (60–65% of the field capacity) were imposed to prime wheat plants during either the tillering or jointing stages, while severe drought stress (40–45% of the field capacity) was applied during the grain filling stage. The priming treatments significantly improved grain yield resulting in higher biomass. Compared to the control, the grain yield and biomass of the non-priming, tillering priming, and jointing priming treatments were reduced by 15.7, 9.1, and 9.3% and by 11.1, 6.1, and 10.5%, respectively. The primed plants exhibited higher adaptability to subsequent severe drought stress during grain filling, showing higher photosynthetic capacities and light use efficiencies with higher leaf water potentials, soluble protein contents, and Rubisco contents and enhanced enzymatic antioxidant systems. The tillering stage is more responsive to drought priming based on the observed grain yield. These results indicate that moderate drought during the vegetative period is conducive to the development of water-saving agriculture to cope drought stress during grain-filling in wheat.

中文翻译：

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营养期干旱启动可通过提高冬小麦光合能力增强花后耐旱性

摘要 谷类作物生殖期干旱胁迫导致产量显着降低，因此有必要探索提高对花后干旱耐受性的有效方法。通过盆栽试验，研究了干旱前引发对花后干旱胁迫下的生理特性和籽粒产量的影响。在分蘖期或拔节期对初生小麦植株施加中度缺水（田间持水量的 60-65%），而在籽粒灌浆期施加严重干旱胁迫（田间持水量的 40-45%）。引发处理显着提高了谷物产量，导致更高的生物量。与对照相比，非激发、分蘖激发和拔节激发处理的籽粒产量和生物量分别降低了 15.7、9.1、和 9.3%，分别增加 11.1、6.1 和 10.5%。在灌浆过程中，经过处理的植株对随后的严重干旱胁迫表现出更高的适应性，表现出更高的光合能力和光利用效率，具有更高的叶水势、可溶性蛋白质含量和 Rubisco 含量，以及增强的酶促抗氧化系统。根据观察到的谷物产量，分蘖阶段对干旱启动更敏感。这些结果表明，营养期中度干旱有利于发展节水农业，以应对小麦灌浆期干旱胁迫。显示出更高的光合能力和光利用效率，具有更高的叶水势、可溶性蛋白质含量和 Rubisco 含量以及增强的酶促抗氧化系统。根据观察到的谷物产量，分蘖阶段对干旱启动更敏感。这些结果表明，营养期中度干旱有利于发展节水农业，以应对小麦灌浆期干旱胁迫。显示出更高的光合能力和光利用效率，具有更高的叶水势、可溶性蛋白质含量和 Rubisco 含量以及增强的酶促抗氧化系统。根据观察到的谷物产量，分蘖阶段对干旱启动更敏感。这些结果表明，营养期中度干旱有利于发展节水农业，以应对小麦灌浆期干旱胁迫。