PHENOTYPICAL EXPRESSION IN THREE DURUM WHEAT VARIETIES ASSOCIATED TO DROUGHT TOLERANCE TRAITS

BENMOUNAH Houda; BRINIS Louhichi

BENMOUNAH Houda Plant Breeding Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology Badji Mokhtar University, 23000 Annaba, Algeria
BRINIS Louhichi Plant Breeding Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology Badji Mokhtar University, 23000 Annaba, Algeria

Keywords: Durum Wheat, Phenotyping, Morphology, Yield, Water Deficit

Abstract

Phenotypical markers have been used on three durum wheat varieties in the field conditions, in order to much more understand the morphological characterization. The objective was also to link the results obtained in the field with others concerning physiological ones for drought tolerance. Results that have been obtained showed that dates of heading and flowering were almost the same for the three varieties. Around fifteen days were separating the two phenological phases. In a morphological point of view, varietal phenotype shows different leaves as far as texture is concerned. Presence or absence of waxiness appears as being a specific parameter to each cultivar. Leaf area is more important for Simeto, followed by Vitron and Ammar 6. Tillering is higher for Simeto. Height of plants does not seem to be discriminating between varieties. This contribution allowed us to characterize main differences in terms of phenotyping; with the objective to incorporate and integrate such relevant traits in wheat breeding program, under water deficit conditions. By doing this, useful morphological traits can be further used for modeling adapted genotypes.