Effect of water deficit stress on physiological traits of some Algerian barley genotypes

Recently, drought stress became more frequent and this presents a serious challenge for plant breeders to create tolerant barley genotypes with good stability under water deficit conditions. The present study aims to evaluate the effects of water deficit stress with 20% of maximum soil water capacity at heading stage on the physiological traits of some barley genotypes and to set recommendations on their possible use in drought tolerance breeding programs. The results revealed significant differences between genotypes in all tested traits. In this regard, Rahma and Tissa maintained a high relative water content and cell membrane stability under water deficit stress, respectively. These characteristics present effective mechanisms to face drought stress in semi-arid regions. Jaidor was the most stay-green genotype characterized by maintaining a high level of chlorophyll content after water deficit stress treatment. Moreover, Acsad176 accumulated high soluble sugars content as a response to water deficit stress. These genotypes could be considered as potential sources of genes for selection of drought tolerant barley varieties

Multivariate analysis of agro-morphological and quality traits of a durum wheat collection under rainfed Algerian conditions

This study assesses the variability, heritability, and correlation of some agro-morphological and quality traits in 125 durum wheat germplasm and groups them into clusters. These germplasms include landraces and cultivars from a variety of countries. The field experiment was conducted at the Algiers experimental station during the 2020-2021 season using an augmented randomized complete block design, with data collected for 11 quantitative traits. The analysis of variance revealed significant differences between the genotypes for the majority of the traits examined. Plant height, flag leaf area, thousand-kernel-weight, number of kernels/spikes, sedimentation volume, yellow index, and wet and dry gluten all showed high heritability coupled with high to moderate genetic advance as a percentage of the mean. The principal components analysis explained 46.67% of the total variation in the first two axes, allowing the identification of traits that significantly contributed to this variation. Pearson correlation coefficients revealed strong associations between plant height and days to heading, which affects seed yield improvement, as well as protein content, gluten content, and sedimentation volume, which influence durum wheat nutritional quality. Cluster analysis divided the 125 durum wheat germplasm samples into five clusters based on trait similarities. Genotypes in clusters II, IV, and V exhibit superior agronomic and quality traits, making them valuable resources for breeding and crossing programs aimed at improving durum wheat. The findings also highlight the value of Algerian landrace germplasm and its potential for use in the genetic improvement of other external genetic materials, particularly in terms of quality trait parameters