Assessment of Heat Tolerance in Durum Wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) Landraces via Morphological and Physiological Traits
摘要
Changing climatic conditions with increasing global temperatures are among the factors causing significant yield losses in wheat. One of the main causes of these losses is high temperature stress. Wheat landraces, which have been cultivated from the past to the present and are still cultivated in certain regions due to their tolerance to all kinds of abiotic stress conditions, have important genetic resources in terms of tolerance to abiotic stresses. In this study, some practical, easily and quickly measurable physiological, morphological and yield related parameters that can be used in high temperature stress tolerance were investigated for use in durum wheat breeding programs in Southeast Anatolia region. In this context, 90 durum wheat landraces and 4 standard cultivars were used. The study was conducted for two years in the experimental field of GAP International Agricultural Research and Training Center under normal (optimum conditions) and late sowing (high temperature stress conditions) according to an augmented design under field conditions. As a result of the research, under high temperature stress conditions compared with optimum conditions, losses were recorded in flag leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD) of 5% in the first year and 8% in the second year, together with reductions of 1% (non-significant) and 6% in NDVI, 19% and 20% in flag leaf greening time, about 8% in plant height in both years, 16% and 20% in flag leaf area, about 4–5% in flag leaf erectability, and 20% and 17% in grain filling time. On the other hand, canopy temperature rose by 18% and 20% in the first and second years, respectively, while flag leaf curling increased by 25% and 9% and grain filling rate by 13% and 9% over the same period. Under both optimum and stress conditions, low vegetative temperature, high SPAD, flag leaf greening time, earliness in terms of spike time, flag leaf erection, flag leaf curling, flag leaf color, and grain filling time, which are among the morphological and physiological traits, can be used as selection criteria in stress-based breeding studies and research to be conducted in the region.