Evaluation of wheat genotypes for yield, agronomic traits and 13C discrimination under dryland condition

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Dryland Agricultural Research Institute, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Maragheh, Iran

2 Agricultural, Medical and Industrial Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, Atomic energy organization, Karaj, Iran

3 Dryland Agricultural Research Institute, Agricultural Research Education and Extension, Organization (AREEO), Maragheh, Iran

Abstract

Water deficit always has been considered as one of the most limiting factor to agricultural production in Iran, as the country is located in the arid and semi-arid zone. This study aimed to evaluate genetic variation among wheat germplasm for drought tolerance and to determine the possible application of 13C isotope discrimination method in identifying wheat genotypes with higher WUE. A number of 160 wheat lines and cultivars with varying level of drought tolerance were examined in observation plots under augmented randomized complete block design along with 4 check cultivars repeated in all 10 blocks. The experiment was performed at Dryland Agricultural Research Station in Maragheh under rainfed conditions during 2009-10 growing season. Data analysis revealed significant differences among the evaluated genotypes for yield under dryland conditions. Our finding suggested that late-mature genotypes have shorter height and lower harvest index, lower thousand kernel weight, which resulted in less yield under dryland conditions. The findings lead to the identification of 22 superior lines with higher yield and desired agronomic traits compared to the check cultivars. Calculation of linear correlation showed significant negative correlation between Δ and wheat grain yield. Under dryland conditions, genotypes with higher yield had lower 13C isotope discrimination. Grain yield showed a significant and negative correlation with 13C discrimination in wheat grown under dryland conditions. This finding suggest that using 13C discrimination to identify wheat genotypes with higher WUE will be able to yield more under dryland conditions.

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