Abstract only

The basic feature of the grain-producing areas of Azerbaijan is dry climate. Drought reduces the amount of organic matter accumulated by plants mainly through retarding the growth of leaves and reducing their assimilative surface. Therefore, the basic requirement to new varieties in Azerbaijan is high yield potential combined with drought tolerance. Drought tolerance depends not only on a genotype, but also on physiological state of plants, i.e. environment. Therefore, the same genotype, depending on geographical latitude, will be characterized by different level of drought tolerance. The purpose of our work is to evaluate wheat germplasm from the CIMMYT and ICARDA nurseries for drought tolerance, select sources of drought tolerance with high grain yield and quality that are suitable for environments of Azerbaijan. In Aze;-baijan RI of Agriculture, the objective Of the dryland wheat breeding program is to develop drought and heat tolerant varieties capable of producing high and sustainable yields under drought. In this connection, development of drought-tolerant germplasm with high grain quality is a priority. Material ofthe study included up to 100 entries of bread and durum wheat differing by origin, number of days to maturity, plant height, drought tolerance, grain protein content, yield, and other traits. The material was planted on the field of the experimental base of Azerbaijan RI of Agriculture located on the Absheron peninsula. The data obtained under the conditions of insufficient and semi-sufficient rainfall provides evidence that variability of weather during the vegetation period result in significant variability in wheat grain yield, which ranges from 253 to 625 g/ m2. Variability in yield of the bread and durum wheat entries obtained from the ICARDA and CIMMYT international nurseries was less significant, ranging within 277 -594 g/m2. The highest yield under the conditions of water stress was recorded for bread wheat variety Girmizi- Gul (625 g/m2), while the lowest was noted for Saratov-29 (253 g/m2). The highest yield in durum wheat varieties was recorded for Baraketli-95 (497 g/m2), while the lowest for Girmizi Bugda (300 g/ m2). Different types of droughts are observed thro- ughout the country. Therefore, each dryland area should have its wheat ideotype with certain phy- siological-biochemical characteristics determining its specifics. It has been found that among the evaluated bread and durum wheat entries are high-yielding, drought-resistant and high-protein content lines. It has been also found that grain protein content ofthe bread wheat varieties grown under moisture stress varied within 13.1-15.8%,whilethatforthedurum wheat entries varied from 11.8 to 15.0%. The data of our study provides evidence that different weather conditions during the vegetation period result in significant changes of the grain protein content. One of the basic ways to improve grain yield and its quality is soil fertility management. It is especially true for growing new input-responsive varieties, which can realize their yield potential only at the high-input level. Our data suggest that grain protein content is positively associated with the nitrogen application rate. Taking into consideration that winter wheat is highly sensitive to the lack of nutrients in the period between booting and heading, the top dressing of crops by nitric fertilizers during this period increases not only grain yield, but also its quality. The protein yield in bread and durum wheat varieties has been relatively well studied. This allows for identifying relationship between grain yield and grain protein content. The protein yield in the entries of bread and durum wheat is found to vary within 3.31.9.38 centner/ha and 4.50-7.87 centner/ha, respectively. Although Ruzi-84 appeared to be a variety with the highest protein content (15.8%), it was inferior to variety Ginnizi-Gul (9.38 c/ha) in terms of the protein yield.,\ The obtained results suggest that genotype inf1uences grain content and consequently, food value of bread wheat grain can be improved through breeding. As a result of the carried out study the selected lines have been included in the crossing program and valuable segregating material has been obtained being presently under study at the breeding nursery.

English

0408|AGRIS 0401|AL-Wheat Program

Juan Carlos Mendieta

CIMMYT Publications Collection