Correlation between Cold- and Drought-Induced Frost Hardiness in Winter Wheat and Rye Varieties

Exposure of six wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and one rye (Secale cereale L.) cultivar to 40% relative humidity for 24 hours induced the same degree of freezing tolerance in seedling epicotyls as did cold conditioning for 4 weeks at 2 degrees C.Frost hardiness varietal relationships were the same in desiccation-stressed and cold-hardened seedlings. Drought stress could, therefore, be used as a rapid and simple method for inducing frost hardiness in seedling shoots in replacement of cold conditioning.