Traditional rye varieties exhibit drought tolerance traits but maintain lower yields than modern varieties under...

Compared with other cereals, rye (Secale cereale L.) has traits that contribute to superior drought tolerance, thus making it a suitable alternative under intensifying droughts related to climate change. The distributions of these traits across a range of varieties and their relationships with yield potential have yet to be fully elucidated. Therefore, the sensitivity of 20 varieties, which differ in origin and age, to drought stress between the second half of stem elongation and the beginning of grain filling was analyzed. Potted plants were exposed to drought on an automated phenotyping platform, enabling accurate simulation of water loss for all varieties. Soil moisture was reduced to 30% of the soil water capacity, followed by rewetting. Although traditional varieties exhibited greater stability of key yield components under drought stress, modern varieties achieved higher absolute yields under both drought and well-watered conditions. Therefore, traditional varieties cannot replace modern varieties but remain valuable donors of drought resistance traits.