Development and Application of a 3D‐Printed Germination Plate: A Simple Tool for Wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) Precision Phenotyping and Breeding

ABSTRACT Wheat is the most important cereal worldwide. Germination assays are widely employed to assess seed quality and evaluate the response of diverse genotypes to abiotic stresses. Advancements in 3D printing technology enable the production of customized germination supports. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a 3D‐printed plate for seed germination by assessing its effectiveness for the screening of drought tolerance and herbicide resistance in different wheat genotypes. Germination experiments were conducted with different concentrations of polyethylene glycol (PEG) or imazethapyr herbicide. The 3D‐printed plate improves wheat seed germination when compared to the traditional paper‐based method. PEG treatment significantly reduced ( p < 0.05) shoot length in all genotypes, with two mutant lines displaying higher tolerance to 15% PEG than the wild type. In the herbicide assay, shoot length, green area and root length were significantly inhibited under increased concentrations of imazethapyr, exhibiting genotype‐dependent responses. The 3D‐printed plate proved to be a valuable tool for drought tolerance characterization using PEG and enabled the identification of wheat genotypes with varying levels of resistance to the imazethapyr herbicide. The germination plate developed in this study offers potential for evaluating a broad spectrum of abiotic stresses in wheat.