Wheat is the most important crop in the world that provide food for human consumption. Most of wheat production areas are located in arid and semi-arid regions where water is very limited due to low rain fall. In addition, rain-fed areas always face irregular rainfall that even limits, Therefore, implementation of water management methods in such areas are essential for sustainable wheat production. Thus, a factorial arrangement based on a randomized complete block design with three replications was carried out during the 2015-2016 to examine the effect of moisture absorbers on the physiological, functional and quality traits of dryland wheat cultivars in a field in Hamedan province (Razan). The treatments were control (Sh), three moisture supercritical absorbent levels 25 (B25), 35 (B35) and 45 (B45) kg/ha, three super absorbent of moisture (zeolite) levels Two (Z2), three (Z3) and four (Z4) tons per hectare and Two dryland wheat genotypes (Takab and Azar2). Leaf relative water content, proline concentration, photosynthetic pigment concentrations, antioxidant activity, leaf area index, plant height, spike length, grain number per spike, 1000 seed weight, grain yield, biological yield, harvest index, grain protein content, Zeleny sediment percentage, moisture percentage, bread volume, grain hardening percentage and water absorption were measured. Moisture absorbers had a significant effect on physiological traits, yield, yield components and quality traits. There was a significant difference between the cultivars in terms of traits. Moisture absorbents increased chlorophyll a and b contents, carotenoid content, relative water content of leaves and reduced proline concentration, catalase activity, guaciole peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase activities compared to control. Also, yield components (spike length, number of seeds per spike, 1000 seed weight), biological yield and harvest index increased as a result of application of moisture adsorbents compared to control. Under the conditions of moisture absorption, wheat grain quality also changed. Application of moisture adsorbents increased the percentage of Zeleny sediment, grain moisture content, seed hardness and moisture absorption percentage, Takab genotype was superior genotype. The highest grain yield was obtained from B45 (1996 kg.ha -1 ) and Z4 (1869 kg.ha -1 ). Takab cultivar under B45 produced the highest yield. In general, it can be concluded that using moisture adsorbents in the dryland areas enhances physiological and morphological parameters of the plant leading to higher yield. Keywords: Dryland wheat, moisture absorption, physiological traits, yield
