Tables, graphs

Sub-soil (> 30 cm) salinity and sodicity is a growing problem particularly in irrigated agricultural areas with rising water tables, poor water quality and/or deficient soil drainage. There were two objectives in this study; (1) to quantify the effect of sub-soil salinity and sodicity in grain yield of triticale, bread wheat and durum wheat and, (2) to determine if genotypes within and between these three crops interact in a normal soil and one with a saline/sodic sub-soil under irrigated conditions. The soils at the CIMMYT experiment station in Cd. Obregon, Sonora, Mexico were mapped by kriging with GS+ geostatistical software for all chemical properties and soil texture. Using the soil maps, two contrasting areas of the station where identified. One with a saline/sodic sub-soil and the other with a normal soil (no limiting factors). A two year experiment was established with sixteen genotypes that included six bread wheats (1-6), five durum wheats (7-11) and five triticales (12-16) in the two soil types previously identified. The results showed a 10% yield reduction when all sixteen genotypes were averaged in the saline/sodic sub-soil location compared to the one with the normal soil. Average across genotypes all three crops seem to have the same level of tolerance to sub-soil salinity/sodicity. However, there was an interaction among genotypes for tolerance to sub-soil salinity/sodicity within each crop. Seven out of the sixteen (44%) genotypes evaluated were tolerant indicating a high frequency of tolerance to this soil problem in the CIMMYT germplasm. Breeders should be aware of the genotype x soil interaction present in bread wheat, durum wheat and triticale at the research station and insure that their trials are planted in soils that represent their breeding objectives.

Conservation Agriculture Program

Text in English

0208|AL-Wheat Program|R01PROCE

INT1421