Effect of drought stress on selected winter wheat yield formation components within pot and field experiimental design

The object of this study was to find out what is the behaviour of the same winter wheat variety (Bohemia) plants cultivated within pot and field experiment. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to verify (based on the pot experiment results) whether the pot experiment (that is limited by the soil area) does not substantially affect plant reactions. The pot experiment was carried out in growth chambers where daily temperature course, relative humidity (RH) and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) were set via protocols. The pots were exposed to the drought stress for 14 days with the daily maximum temperature 26 °C from noon to 2 p.m. The pots were split into 2 groups: (1) Dry where the soil moisture within pots were maintained below 30% of the maximum water holding capacity, (2) Wet where the soil moisture did not decrease below 70% of the maximum water holding capacity. The plants within Wet variant were considered as a control group. The pots were placed onto the concrete floor of a vegetation hall (where the plants were exposed to the weather conditions) prior and after stress regime exposition. The field experiment was conducted within experimental station in Bystřice nad Pernštejnem belonging to the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands in the Czech Republic. The drought stress was established through the transparent roofs installed above plants’ tops level in the field. The control experimental plot without roofs was nearby there as well. The plants were harvested when the full maturity was reached and the selected yield formation components were evaluated