Abstract
The genetics of four physiological traits (net photosynthesis, water-use-efficiency, relative water content and excised leaf water loss) and their correlation with agronomic traits in spring wheat was studied under drought. The parent, F, and segregating generations of four crosses were grown in pots under glasshouse conditions. Generation means and variance analyses of the data suggested simple inheritance of the traits. The estimates of narrow sense heritability were very high which might be due to the presence of a few major genes involved for the inheritance of the traits. The traits were not correlated with agronomic traits so it should be easy to breed recombinant lines for improved drought resistance. Similar gene action and significant correlation among net photosynthesis, water-use-efficiency and relative water content suggested that under drought these traits might be controlled by some common major genes. Key words: drought resistant traits, genetics, wheat
