Grain yield and its components study and their association with normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) under terminal water deficit and well-irrigated conditions in wheat (Triticum durum Desf. and Triticum aestivum L.)

Six genotype of Triticum aestivum L. in 1991 and one genotype of Triticum durum Desf. and three of T. aestivum L. in 1992 were studied under different water regimes: full irrigation (R1), mild water stress (R3) and severe water stress (R2) at Magneraud (France). Traits evaluated were grain yield and its components, stress susceptibility index (SSI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The analysis of variance revealed significant differences between regimes and among the cultivars for all traits except between regimes for thousand grains weight in 1991. The regime × variety interaction was significant for grain yield, thousand grains weight and NDVI in 1992 and for grain yield in 1991. For all traits, durum wheat (T. durum Desf.) has higher reduction in the two water stress than the common wheat (T. aestivum L.). Correlations studies revealed that grain yield, grains number/m², thousand grains weight and NDVI were associated with each other except for correlations between thousand grains weight on one hand and grain yield (1992) and grains number/m² (1991) on the other hand. 51.55, 27.88, 4.12% (1991) and 75, 43 and 20.2% (1992) of grain yield, grains/m² and thousand grains weight variability, respectively were explained by means NDVI variability. The grain yield and grains number/m² could be predicted using a single regression with NDVI.Keywords: Grain yield, grain yield components, NDVI, durum wheat and bread wheat

Maize (Zea mays L.) from the Saharan oasis: adaptation to temperate areas and agronomic performance

29 Pags., 6 Tabls. The definitive version is available at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/0925-9864/Saharan maize had been adapted to extreme conditions and could have developed resistance to different stresses. However, genebanks and breeding collections have poor representation from Saharan germplasm and, particularly, from Algeria. This is a preliminary approach to investigate the adaptation and agronomic performance of a representative sample of Saharan maize. We evaluated open-pollinated Saharan populations along with European and American cultivars during 2 years in humid and dry Spanish locations and in Algiers (Algeria). Saharan populations were able to grow in temperate environments, although results were not consistent over years and the genotype-by- environment interactions were very important. Some of the Algerian populations evaluated in 2010 showed promising yield and anthesis silking interval over environments, but none of the Algerian populations evaluated in 2009 were adequately adapted to Spanish conditions. These results suggest that there are wide ranges of variability within Saharan maize for adaptation to temperate conditions, and further evaluations of Saharan maize should identify potential base populations for breeding maize in either side of the Mediterranean Sea. However, this germplasm requires prebreeding for adaptation to temperate conditions in order to be adequate for breeding programs in temperate areas.This research was supported by the Agencia Española de Cooperación y Desarrollo (AECID), the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), and the École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique, El Harrach-Algiers. A. Djemel has a JAE Pre contract from CSIC.Peer reviewe