Durum wheat productivity in sustainable Mediterranean agro-ecosystems as related to yield components and morpho-physiological traits

• Published in: Options Méditerranéennes. Série A : Séminaires Méditerranéens (CIHEAM) no. 81
• Main Authors: Sanguineti, M.C.; Maccaferri, M.; Natoli, E.; Tuberosa R., University of Bologna (Italy). Dept. of Agroenvironmental Sciences and Technology, DeAmbrogio, E.; Demontis, A., Società Produttori Sementi Bologna, Argelato (Italy). Divisione Ricerca, Royo, C.; Villegas, D.; Alvaro, F.; Moragues, M., Universitat de Lleida (Spain). Institut de Recerca i Tecnología Agroalimentaries, Dep. de Mejora de Cereales - Udl-IRTA, Garcia del Moral, L.F.; Isidro, J.; Martos, V., Universidad de Granada (Spain). Facultad de Ciencias, Instituto de Biotecnología, Departamento de Fisiología Vegetal, Nserallah, N.; Ouabbou, H., Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Settat (Morocco). Centre Régional de la Recherche Agronomique de Settat, Ben Salem, M.; Rhouma, S.; Slama, A., Tunisian National Institute of Agronomic Research, Tunis (Tunisia), El-Ahmed, A., Aleppo University, Aleppo (Syria). Plant Protection Department, Maalouf, F., Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute, Bekaa (Lebanon). Department of Plant Breeding, Araus-Ortega, J.L.; Bort, J., Universitat de Barcelona (Spain). Departament de Biologia Vegetal, Motawai, J.; Nachit M.M., International Center for Agricultural Research in dry Areas, Aleppo (Syria)
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Zaragoza (Spain) CIHEAM-IAMZ 2008
• Subjects: BLE DUR; CARACTERES DE RENDIMIENTO; COMPOSANTE DE RENDEMENT; HARD WHEAT; http://www.fao.org/aos/agrovoc#c_11456; http://www.fao.org/aos/agrovoc#c_24419; http://www.fao.org/aos/agrovoc#c_29563; http://www.fao.org/aos/agrovoc#c_6210; MEDITERRANEAN ZONE; MORPHO-PHYSIOLOGICAL TRAITS; PRODUCTIVIDAD; PRODUCTIVITE; PRODUCTIVITY; TRIGO DURO; YIELD COMPONENTS; ZONA MEDITERRANEA; ZONE MEDITERRANEENNE
• ISBN: 9782853524049; 2853524043
• ISSN: 1016-121X

Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var durum) is mainly grown in drought-prone areas within the Mediterranean Basin, where terminal stresses, mostly drought and heat, are the major yield constraints. This study was conducted within the framework of the EU-project IDuWUE (Improving Durum wheat for Water Use Efficiency and yield stability through physiological and molecular approaches), in order to ascertain the contribution of yield components and some morpho-physiological traits to explain yield variations in a range of Mediterranean environments. Eight experiments, including a RIL population of 249 lines or a collection of 192 durum wheat accessions, were conducted in contrasting agro-ecological zones within the Mediterranean Basin. Yield, yield components, test weight, flag leaf posture, time from sowing to heading, peduncle length and plant height were measured on each plot. Principal component analysis revealed a wide range of genetic and environmental variability, with the two sets of germplasm showing contrasting phenotypic structure regarding the measured traits. Stepwise regression analysis across environments revealed that yield components accounted for ca. 87.5 per cent of yield variations. The contribution of morpho-physiological traits to explain yield variations was much lower. Our results reveal that variability in durum wheat yield across Mediterranean environments was mostly due to variability in grain weight