Abstract:

The effects of low phosphorus stress (5 μmol/L KH2PO4) on the growth of six wheat varieties at seedling stage were investigated in this paper. Results showed that, the maximum root length of each variety was induced by low phosphorus stress. Root fresh weight and root dry weight were significantly increased, while the aboveground traits decreased under low phosphorus condition with different sensitivity of evaluated varieties. In general, the traits for belowground part were more sensitive to low phosphorus stress than traits for aboveground part of wheat seedlings. The order of sensitivity to low phosphorus stress in all evaluated traits was root fresh weight > maximum root length > root dry weight > shoot fresh weight > shoot dry weight > plant height. Wheat variety ‘Chinese Spring’ was more sensitive to low phosphorus stress while ‘Jing 411’ was more tolerant to low phosphorus compared to other varieties in this study.